Chronic
by Aria's Locket
Summary: After seven years of separation, Aang is wholly unprepared when he meets an alluring version of Toph, and cannot resist the attraction. But is he ready to delve into such sinful waters without drowning in the guilt? AxT
1. Infected

**Title:** Chronic

**Summary:** After seven years of separation, Aang is wholly unprepared when he meets an alluring version of Toph, and cannot resist the attraction. But is he ready to delve into such sinful waters without drowning in the guilt?

**A/N: **I know, I know. "Dammit, Aria. What are you doing? You have other stories to write!" Well, you try sleeping and functioning when you've got a plot scratching at your brain and demanding attention at all hours of the day! It's very difficult! Anyway, I figured this was a story that would push my envelope, so to speak. So I figured that this was as good a time as any to push myself more than I'm comfortable. Think of it as a little exercise for myself in which you all benefit immensely ^.^

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**Infected**

* * *

Sokka was a pain to watch in any sort of dance hall and Aang was accustomed to being embarrassed by him. Once eighteen had rolled around, he had taken to immersing himself in the suffocating orgies of fellow drunken, obtuse teenagers. Aang was at least comforted by the fact that the warrior had the couth to not drink himself into a coma like some of the unconscious idiots he was currently observing. Of course, this didn't mean that Sokka wasn't sufficiently inebriated to the point where he still had to confirm with Aang whether or not the thing he had just flirted with was actually a girl, or just the stone column in the corner. That left Aang as the sole savior who dutifully and miserably brought Sokka back to their hotel every night.

The Water Tribe warrior came down here every other night after the two of them spent the entire day sitting through meetings with stuffy, stubborn adults regarding so many legalities it sometimes gave Aang intense migraines at the end of the day. Sitting in this pounding environment didn't help the condition, but Sokka wasn't going to come alone and lose his mind, and Aang was unfortunately too nice to refuse. Add into the equation that they would be attending meetings for at least another month before they could return home, and Aang realized quickly that he was absolutely dreading the rest of his stay here.

None of his friends were even willing to partake in such a daunting task. Zuko refused to step foot into those dance halls, claiming then to be a center of debauchery that would no doubt sully the credibility he had to rebuild for himself. Aang unfortunately understood that, and half wished that the teens in the crowd would pick up on the fact that he was the Avatar and that Sokka was a well-respected pillar of the Southern Water Tribe government. Maybe then they could avoid these types of situations, get recognized, and be on their very merry way. But, everyone was too high on the music, dancing, and drinking to really take much notice of who they were. If they did, they didn't seem to care. Besides, Aang found it much less troublesome to wear a hat and fingerless gloves to hide the arrows anyway.

Katara and Suki never came with them when it was time to do business in Ba Sing Se. The two women were very much content staying in the North and South Poles respectively and avoiding whatever drivel that went on in these meetings the two men were forced to attend. Aang supposed that was well enough. He wasn't sure how happy Suki would be to see Sokka allowing so many girls to lean their heads against his shoulder and whisper in his ear something raunchy and dirty. Though he was drunk, he thankfully never did anything that would ruin whatever relationship Sokka had worked so hard to build. So Aang never revealed much to his girlfriend or to Suki whenever they returned.

He ignored the looks that the bartender was giving him whenever Aang asked for another drink of water, but Aang didn't have the energy or the patience to feel judged. He was the one that needed to navigate through the streets back to the hotel and you needed to be fully alert to even attempt to understand what kind of half-wit designed the layout.

Sokka was somewhere lost in the throngs of people dancing to the heavy beat of the drums being banged on stage. Aang couldn't exactly call him a good dancer, even when he was sober. But the warrior's thin and muscled frame seemed to have been an eye catcher for the female demographic. Despite some of the leers being sent Sokka's way, he seemed to at least be doing well in avoiding any activity that would no doubt get him in trouble. Aang at least trusted his judgment in that department, so he left him to his devices.

Personally, Aang would rather be back at his hotel room reading and enjoying a nice cup of jasmine or curled up with Katara in bed at home. Most of the adults he spoke with expected him to partake in some form of incriminating, young behavior being that he was only twenty. Most were shocked to know that he preferred his Friday nights to be quiet and uneventful. But as was the case, he never really had much of a choice in the matter.

Aang wasn't sure what made him do it or why he was even possessed to pay attention to any of the couples hiding in the dimly lit corners of the dance hall in the first place, but his eyes had traveled to the left to behold the sight of the young couple pressed close up against each other, chuckling quietly to themselves and letting their hands innocently wander across curved hips and toned chests. She was barefoot—probably an Earth Bender—and was brushing her toes against the backs of the man's calves. He seemed completely taken with the position and leaned his head down to hear ear to whisper something to her.

Normally, Aang would have allowed the privacy and turned away to mind his business, but the girl's head turned when she chuckled at what the man had said to her—

…

He felt his brain telling him to fixate his gaze on his drink and just forget about what he saw, but there was something so oddly surreal about seeing her here after so many years that Aang almost forgot to remind himself that he was staring rather oddly and would no doubt be caught if he didn't let up soon. It couldn't have been Toph, not after all this time and not _here_ of all places.

She didn't strike him as the type of girl to enjoy the nightlife, and he half wondered if maybe it was an imposter, a very convincing look alike. But there was no mistaking it. Those eyes were practically a password leading to his memory, and that smirk she had just cracked made the entire realization a done deal. Plus, if he had nothing else to go by, that familiar laugh—the one that he could pick out from a crowd without any trouble at all—did all that it needed to when it came to convincing him.

Suddenly, he realized his slip and turned his gaze back down to the counter he was sitting at. The girl had—without any exaggeration—disappeared seven years ago. From one day to next, she had taken off without a word of warning or farewell to anyone. Strangely enough, they had all expected that it would happen sooner or later. Toph wasn't one that was easily tied down, and out of all of them, she was the one that had the most loose ends that still needed tying up. Aang felt a little pang when he realized after a few days that she had really left and probably had no intention of returning, but he respected the decision that she made. He trusted her to be able to take care of herself.

Zuko claimed that she hadn't totally disappeared. He said he got letters signed by Lord Bei Fong with brief responses to whatever inquiries the Fire Lord felt needed to be answered by the Earth Kingdom's most influential family. However, he noticed that the letters were rather curt in that subtle way that only Toph knew how to properly pull off, suggesting that she had probably taken over the affairs of her family to some degree. Aang had heard no word about her reconciliation with her parents—in fact no one had. But he supposed some progress must have been made for her to take on the role of mediator between her parents and the Fire Lord.

Yet here she was, like a little devil sweet-talking a handsome stranger in the corner of a shoddy dance hall.

He wondered if it would be rude to interrupt and get her attention. A possessive thought entered his mind that indicated he had the right, since he had known her longer. But there was something so fascinating about the exchange—something about the way she seemed to control everything that was happening right down to how long the man let his lips linger on her ear lobe. It caused Aang to stare again.

Forgetting that she was sensitive to such things, he blinked when Toph turned her head towards him as if she felt his gaze on her neck. It wouldn't surprise him if such a thing were true, and quickly caught himself a second time and fixated his gaze elsewhere. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that she had yet to turn back to her partner and was still scrunching her eyes in concentration and dutifully ignoring the touches she was still receiving. He shook his head and completely turned his body away.

In the midst of all of his considerations and weighing of options and possible outcomes, the universe and fate did that funny thing where they plotted quickly before forcing situations on the Avatar without asking first. He learned to stop taking offence to it and just accepted it as what it was. After stopping a war and traveling the world for the better part of his youth, little to nothing shocked him anymore. He liked to think that he had seen it all, which was why he almost laughed at the irony of it all when a familiar voice spoke up next to him at the bar.

"One shot of Fire Whiskey, please."

Her voice lost that childish, uncouth tone that came out whenever she wanted it to or not. It was what made her come off as brash and uncultured back when they were little, not too mention far too blunt for her own good. However, it had deepened slightly, making her sound older, and had an almost breathy sound to it. He noted with a smile that she probably would never stop sounding so direct and insistent. It was…charming. It was like being doused in warm lava that spread through his body like a comforting little hum. He was so caught up in the pleasant change that he had nearly missed her inquiry.

"Sorry?" Aang turned and regarded the girl as she received her drink. Her head tipped back as she effortlessly downed the drink and didn't bat a lash at the burn that was no doubt spreading in her throat. Her pale eyes—which glowed in an almost ghostly way in the dim lighting—stared straight ahead and focused on nothing as she thanked the bartender with a coy little smile that he wasn't sure she even realized she was making.

"Is the music too much for you?" Her nails were clicking against the counter to the beat of the drums that dictated the rhythm of the gyrating, throbbing crowd. "You're sitting here all by yourself, after all. I sort of have to wonder why."

Aang wondered if she had recognized him, but his feet weren't on the ground for her to pick up on any tell tale signs of who he was, plus her speech was too conversational to be talking to an old friend. That or she was teasing him, though he saw no reason for her to.

"How do you know I'm not the type to drown my sorrows in liquor?" He hadn't meant for his voice to come out as huskily as it did—he was still trying to figure out how exactly that had happened—but Toph, being the terribly acute young woman that she was, picked up on the tone immediately and smirked at his question.

"If that were so, you'd have been sulking in the cheap run down bars on the edge of town, not lively dance halls like this one. Hardly the ambiance you'd need if you were really that down in the dumps. Besides…" Toph reached across effortlessly and grabbed the water he was nursing in front of him. She smiled as she delicately took a small sip of the drink and set it back down on the table. "…water is a rather poor choice."

Aang knew the answer, but his Earth Bender friend intrigued him so much that he decided to ask anyway. "Now how did you know that?"

The girl shrugged. "You asked for about eight refills, yet you sound pretty lucid at the moment. Either you were going non-alcoholic for the night or you drink way too often to be acceptable."

Aang chuckled at that. _Still as sharp as ever_, he noted. "Alright, fine. I concede to defeat. Very impressive deductions."

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly—again, with an alluring undertone he wasn't sure was intentional. "Though you should feel honored. An elegant defeat by my hands is something you tell your friends about."

"Oh really now?" he questioned with amusement. "Are you some sort of devious virtuoso that I should know about?"

The girl scoffed at the label. "I would hardly call it devious. Perhaps a bit intrusive, I'll admit. But you don't seem to mind." Her smile was filed with clever wit as opposed to the sarcasm it was usually littered with. Age must have turned her away from her usually obtuse way of speaking and replaced it with a tasteful cunningness that Aang enjoyed immensely.

"Maybe not," Aang admitted, "but maybe I _do_ mind how long you must have been staring to notice my supposed eight refills."

Toph outright laughed at this, and Aang noted the slight flush on her cheeks when she answered. "I know quality when I see it, so I stopped to observe. Besides, I was hardly occupied."

Aang wondered if maybe he shouldn't have mentioned such an observation, but it was too late to stop it when it came out of his mouth. "I don't think that's quite so. That man you were with seemed quite enraptured with you."

Her brows rose at the challenge and she easily took the bait. "Now who's the one staring?"

"Blame the boyish curiosity that I haven't quite grown out of yet. And you didn't answer my question."

"You didn't ask one," she smirked.

By this time, Aang realized that he was flirting with her just a bit, which was odd considering the history that they shared and how just yesterday, he only remembered her as a loud-mouthed thirteen year old girl. She had to have been nineteen now—it was still winter, her birthday shouldn't be for another few months. Plus, and probably the more pressing issue, there was Katara back at the North Pole patiently waiting for her boyfriend of seven years to return home to their bed so that they could celebrate his being away for a month on business.

The small part of him—the one that wasn't quite so caught up in the conversation as the rest of him was—reminded him of that little fact, and he faltered with his next response for a moment. However, he quickly dismissed the ridiculous idea. This was Toph: an old friend, despite the fact that he wasn't sure if she knew that yet. Besides, not that he was justifying his behavior by comparing himself to others, Sokka had done worse and he had refrained from telling Suki anything. This was just talking. He rather liked the mysterious stranger role he was assuming now. It lightened up the annoyance he had developed over the course of the night and he gladly welcomed the distraction.

That in mind, he didn't even try to hide the deeper, lower tone of voice he took on when he asked her, "Who was that man you were with?"

Toph smiled at the change, and leaned forward just a bit. "Jealous?"

Aang shrugged. "Intrigued."

"So now I intrigue you?" Toph chuckled darkly. For a split second, Aang almost found the laugh to be extremely attractive. Instead he stayed silent and leaned in a centimeter, not wishing to answer himself and instead wanting her to curb his curiosity.

The girl sighed dramatically and leaned her elbows on the table, answering him in fake disappointment. "What I thought to be a decent distraction. But he was rather good at boring me half to death. A girl's got to look charming, so I played it off for a bit. But you can only go on for so long when the man's got the personality of a door knob."

"Cheap or gilded?" Aang countered, playing up the metaphor.

She cringed in response. "Definitely cheap…like the type of dirty, wooden door knobs that stick and wiggle when you turn them. They try to pass off as a door knob but can't even perform the basic function of one. If I used a word with more than seven letters, it probably went up and over his head."

"I take it you haven't met many interesting men, then," Aang joked. Not that this was much of a surprising revelation. Aside from Katara—and of course this lovely version of Toph that he had accidently stumbled upon—not many of the heavily made up girls that were losing themselves in the crowd seemed to be worth his time. Considering the fact that the men they were hanging off of were probably no better, he fully believed her. He half wondered where Sokka had gone off to in all the excitement.

"Not true," she admitted. "You've caught my attention rather splendidly."

Aang raised a brow. "No other male friends you considered worth your time?"

Toph shook her head and looked up as if she were deep in thought. "Not that I can remember…"

The comment made Aang feel just a little bit affronted. He knew that she didn't know who he was, but at the very least make the effort to make some sort of indication towards him. Aang had to admit, he was thrown for a little loop that she had just so casually forgotten to mention the boy she had spent a good portion of her adolescence with.

"I guess little boys don't make very good companions, huh?" he responded bitterly.

This time, Toph couldn't hide the large smile that made Aang feel nostalgic all over again. "Well, I'd hardly call you a little boy anymore, Twinkle Toes."

It took Aang a moment to fully process what she had just said, and he found himself gaping at her with a stupid look on his face that he was almost glad she couldn't see. The silence made Toph's laugh ring out again once she realized that she had finally gotten him tied up in a corner with no way to understand just how he had gotten there without noticing it.

"Your silence only proves my point, Aang," she answered him again. This time, Aang knew that she was far more perceptive than he had given her credit for and should have known that there was no way he was going to get away with pretending like he was someone else. Oh, well. It was worth a try.

"…I'm not even going to bother to comprehend why I thought you didn't know, Toph." He laughed at himself suddenly and had to lean his elbows on the counter so he could allow the little chortles of amusement to leave his body before he regarded the Earth Bender again.

"Well how can you expect me _not_ to realize? You're not hard to pick out from a crowd. Though I will admit, that voice of yours threw me off for a moment. Didn't think it'd get so deep. It doesn't quite match the light and airy footsteps."

Aang rolled his eyes at the familiar jab at his apparently feminine gait and instead smiled warmly in a way that was reminiscent of the good old days. "Nice to see you again too, Toph."

She had switched positions again, and was now resting her head on her folded arms as she looked up at him. Aang found himself shifting slightly to the right so that her gaze coincidently lined up with his. He was too distracted to comprehend why exactly he had bothered to do so. She seemed like she was about to say something to him—he wasn't sure if it was more clever banter in order to keep the mood light or something sappy and nostalgic to apologize for the absence. With the way her eyes softened for a moment, he almost expected the latter. But her eyes quickly reverted back to the teasing sparkle they had before. Aang found that he didn't disagree with the change. This hardly seemed the place for such intimate reunions. Besides, Toph didn't quite seem the type for such heartfelt admissions, at least not in front of so many people and not quite so easily.

"So." Toph lifted her head again and properly turned her body towards him. "I doubt you come all the way to Ba Sing Se just to sit back and watch everyone else around you have fun. I never pegged you for the type to hang out here."

Aang was tempted to retort with the same sentiment, but refrained from doing so and simply answered, "I'm not. But Sokka is."

"Oh really." Toph's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Good ol' Snoozles is here? Where is he?"

"You can't see him?"

She rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders in annoyance. "The drums are throwing me off. Plus there are so many people here I can't see as well as I'd like. I only noticed it was you when I got close."

Aang figured that made sense. Besides, looking around, he didn't think Sokka was even here anymore. That or he was extremely well disguised within the crowd that Aang couldn't pick him out. He figured that he might want to talk to Toph as well, but something told him that Sokka was a little bit preoccupied with other things to even think about coming back to the bar to see how Aang was doing. The Air Bender really didn't mind it all too much, especially not now. The thought of catching up with Toph all by himself pleased him immensely.

"And here I thought that the Great and Powerful Toph Bei Fong could do anything," Aang teased. "Shall I alert the media?"

Toph nudged his shoulder and made him topple in his seat a bit. She tried to look annoyed, but the smile threw the whole thing off. "Lay off, will you? Picking on a cripple is just cruel."

"But you're not crippled," Aang smiled in response. "Unless you'd like me to help you live out your princess fantasy and let me sweep you off to where I see fit."

"How romantic," Toph deadpanned. "Anyway, why are you here?"

Aang sighed and immediately felt a headache coming on just from the mention of the meetings he had in a couple of days. "Avatar and political stuff that is nothing short of suicide-inducing rubbish. I don't recommend it."

Toph didn't look sympathetic. "Well, that's what you get for being an accomplished, sacred heart throb. It's all your fault."

Aang couldn't help but zoom in on the last part of her statement. "Heart throb, huh?"

"Perhaps you're oblivious to these kinds of things being the obvious male that you are, but you are the topic of talk amongst social circles like these. And trust me…they're not just talking about your heroic attributes." Toph allowed a quick little smirk to spread across her face and decided to let Aang puzzle out exactly what she meant by that. He was a little bit thrown off by the teasing look she had sent him, never having the opportunity to converse with her in such a way. He wondered if maybe she spent so much time at these dance halls that she had perfected the little subtleties he kept catching on to. It was either that, or she was really just that innately talented.

Feeling a little bit more self-conscious and all the more fascinated, Aang flipped the conversation around. "Well what about you? I distinctly remember you hating this city."

"Legal stuff," she answered cryptically. "All the competent lawyers are here. Spending days conversing with tightly wound prudes causes you to want to let loose a little bit." She leaned back in her chair and held up her hands as if asking Aang to witness the beauty around her. "Hence our current location."

"For seven years?" She was being so vague that Aang had to wonder if she was doing it on purpose and intentionally hiding something from him. Or maybe she was just purposefully trying to jab at his curiosity.

"I've been about," she answered simply, as if that was all the answer that Aang needed. "Settled some family things and traveled a little. Nothing too bad, right?"

"With you, that could mean anything," Aang joked. Not exactly the answer he was hoping for, but he didn't really think this was the time or the place to be talking so heatedly about such things. After all, it was bad enough they were practically shouting over the music just to hear each other. He figured that he could wait for a proper response sometime later.

Any conversation either of them had planned on furthering was halted when the music changed drastically. Two drummers had entered the center of the stage and began leading the band with a catchy base beat that the rest of the young people on the dance floor immediately recognized. Soon, other instruments in the back began to join in on the beat and pretty soon, everyone started arranging themselves into lines.

Toph laughed at the sight. "You know this dance, don't you?"

Aang nodded. In fact, he had learned about a month ago when Sokka had barged into his room uninvited and taught him the whole thing despite his rather horrible rendition of the accompanied music. It was about four in the morning when Sokka had stumbled into his room and insisted on sharing his revelation with someone, but Aang supposed it was better than sitting and reading through scrolls written by stuffy diplomats that really could have been dealt with later. Apparently, the dance had exploded with the teenage population and nearly every dance hall in the Earth Kingdom knew the music that went along with it. You could almost count on hearing at least four times in the night.

Figuring that while the opportunity was presented to him he might as well take advantage of it, Aang sprung out of his seat and nudged his drink towards the bartender, insisting that he was done with it for the moment. He sauntered in a gentlemanly manner and stopped in front of Toph as he held out his hand to her.

"You want to dance?"

Still keeping up the almost careless way she seemed to be carrying herself tonight, she hesitated with a reluctant smirk and an eyebrow quirked. But Aang knew how to read her well, and was pleased when she slid from her seat and took his hand gently and nodding to him politely in thanks. The two of them laughed at the exchange before stumbling into the middle of the floor amidst the other bodies and stood across from each other as they waited for the band to shift into the main beat.

He vaguely remembered the time where he and Katara had danced together at the Fire Nation party they had thrown all those years ago. Though he knew for a fact that it was going to be entirely different this time around. The dance they had shared was very fluid. There were lots of jumps and a lot of skirting around each other without really touching. It mirrored the same defensive nature of the Water Bending they had practiced together. It was a beautiful dance, high in energy, but perfectly innocent.

This dance was something else entirely. The movements were sharp and quick and involved getting up close and personal with your dance partner. There was no disconnection. If you weren't touching your partner, your bodies were glued to the ground. The light jumps he remembered with Katara were replaced with daring slides across the floor with Toph. The gyrating was another touch that was rather new. It was a very flirtatious dance. One minute Aang and Toph were close to each other, their hips moving in sync and just barely brushing against the other. But the next minute they would break apart and dance apart, completing move after move in quick succession to keep up with the rhythm.

The beat changed and the dancers immediately knew what to do next. Toph smiled at Aang as the sweat started trickling down their necks and backs in their attempts to keep up with the demanding dance. Her eyebrows lifted a fraction and Aang knew exactly what she had meant by the action. At the exact moment of the new beat, Toph—along with the rest of the female dancers—jumped as she planted a hand firmly on Aang's shoulder. He remembered when he had practiced this with Sokka and thanked the Spirits that she was far lighter than he was as he effortlessly flipped her backwards. She landed on her feet exactly on the beat of the drums and smiled coyly at him as they got back up against each other again.

The beat slowed down, and Aang put his hands on her hips as they kept on moving their hips in perfect rhythm.

"Not bad," Toph panted, slightly out of breath. "But then again, I knew you were a good dancer."

"At least you knew," Aang laughed. "I didn't know _you_ could dance, though."

Toph shrugged and simply replied, "Well, I actually come to dance halls for the dancing." She took that moment to drop to the floor so that her nose was maybe only a hair's breath away from brushing against his pants in a very suggestive manner. The female dancers popped back up quickly enough, and Aang suddenly realized that he was seriously entertained by the devil-may-care way she was dancing with him. All thought of his girlfriend at home momentarily left his mind as he threw himself full throttle into the rest of the dance.

The music became wild after that. Instruments played all over the place and the drummers looked positively animalistic as they pounded down on their instruments for the last part of the dance. Aang noted with humor as many of the couples around them fell into giggles as they failed to keep up with the ridiculously fast tempo and instead stopped their dancing altogether. Toph must have been serious when she said she frequented these dance halls often, because she showed no signs of slowing down at all. Her feet were far too accustomed to the earth for her to even think of tripping over herself. Of course, Aang appreciated the appeal of the dance and picked up the steps quickly enough and didn't falter.

They barely noticed when the dance floor opened up so that everyone was staring only at them and cheering them on to finish the rest of the dance. Aang didn't think he had ever had this much fun in a while. This was probably the first time that he had ever come to a dance hall and actually thoroughly enjoyed himself. There was just something so carefree about Toph that made him forget why he was even here and just focus on the two of them. He forgot just how much she lifted his spirits right when he needed her to and how much his heart swelled at the prospect of doing something so uninhibited. The seven years without her around suddenly hit him, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out how he had survived this whole time without her around.

Aang quickly dipped her low to the floor—so low her head was only inches off from the floor—and relished in the deafening applause that surrounded them. Even the musicians on the stage joined in on the applause since it was rare that the circle opened up on just one couple. Aang easily pulled her up to her feet and immediately felt the heat rising to his face from the exertion. Toph's bun had come out somewhere in between and was now falling past her shoulders, the headband holding her hair together nowhere to be seen. He didn't think he had ever seen her with her hair down before. It was an interesting look that he thought complimented her more than the bun did.

Toph's head jerked towards the door as she put a hand on his shoulder and led him off the dance floor. Aang mused to himself and wondered where Sokka had gone off. Though, to be fair, Sokka didn't look like he had had _that_ much to drink tonight. He seemed fairly sober—well more sober than usual—when he had last laid eyes on him and figured that he would be fine getting home by himself.

Aang nodded and made his way with Toph in stride to the back of the dance hall where all the coats and cloaks were kept. Aang threw his on over his shoulders as Toph tied the strings to her cloak and slipped on her own pair of gloves to keep warm in the winter weather. Sparing one last glance at the noise and thrum of music, the two friends ducked out the dance hall and entered the cold streets of the city.

* * *

Toph didn't drag him far. They only walked about five minutes before she brought him to a quaint little dessert shop that she knew made late night deliveries to the insomniac university students whose lodgings weren't that far away. They entered the store and Aang heard Toph thank under her breath that no one was there. She jumped up and down on her feet and blew on her fingertips as she asked the clerk for double her usual order.

Aang chuckled at the sight of her all rosy cheeked from the cold and her trying to warm her numb feet that were completely bare save for some charms hanging on the tops of her feet that dangled from her anklets. She heard his chuckling and rather immaturely stuck her tongue out at him while he collapsed into more laughter. There was something so natural about the way that Aang could go without seeing Toph for so many years and be able to be with her so easily that he found himself smiling while she started to chastise him for making fun of her. His heart warmed at the sight and couldn't resist jabbing more fun at her while they waited for their order.

Much to his surprise, Toph sat the two of them down at a table in the corner and placed two beautifully prepared egg custard tarts in front of them. Aang's eyes sparkled at the sight, and Toph must have sensed his excitement because she began smiling at his excitement.

"I still remember they're your favorite," she replied simply as she cut into her own tart and began sampling the sugary sweet.

It was such a little detail about him to remember, and normally it wouldn't have made him feel so special. Katara remembered his favorite foods all the time and knew close to everything about him. But that was to be expected after dating for so long. Toph…well she was just so attune to him that she didn't even hesitate to read him effortlessly. There was something so oddly warming and comforting about that fact that he couldn't help but thank her warmly for the offer.

They had each taken a few bites of the treat before Aang had decided to continue their conversation where they had left off. "How long are you staying in Ba Sing Se?"

Toph chewed thoughtfully before shrugging nonchalantly. "However long I want. Of course, there are still some things I need to deal with down here. But I'm in no rush to go back home. Admittedly, the city is growing on me. Kuei's calmed down on the cutthroat rules he set up during the war, so it's not that bad anymore. Besides, the social scene here is way better than in Gaoling, I can tell you that."

"I still would have never thought you'd be the type for dance halls though." He didn't think Toph wasn't necessarily opposed to having a good time—far from it actually. But before she seemed so focused on other things besides dancing and flirting. She would rather gamble and fight, he had seen it first hand himself. He certainly didn't expect to see her there tonight.

Toph twirled her chopsticks around in the custard middle of her dessert, her eyes glazed over in thought. "Neither did I, to be honest. But underground Earth Rumble tournaments aren't allowed in Ba Sing Se. The Dai Li would skin you and serve you to the Earth King on a golden platter complete with his morning jook, so I had to find other sources of entertainment. Besides, so long as you don't get too drunk, they're pretty fun."

"I hear you. After that they become this annoying cacophony of drunken nonsense." He had been a witness to such decrepit states before. That was usually the time when Aang looked for Sokka and dragged him home before he completely lost his cool.

"Totally agree with you. It's sort of a curse with this city."

Aang raised a brow at the comment and chewed thoughtfully. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Toph began, "we Earth Kingdom folk like to think Ba Sing Se has it all. In reality, it sort of does. It's the richest capital in the world and anyone who wants to be successful in the Earth Kingdom only need to have a lucky connection here and they're set for the rest of their lives. That being said, it's easy to overindulge."

"Elaborate?"

Toph put down her chopsticks for a moment and looked as if she were struggling with her next words. She flinched a little when she spoke, as if she still wasn't fully satisfied with the explanation she was about to give.

"Caught up in the moment, I guess? But not quite. It's like a sensory overload. There's so much to take in that sometimes it becomes a little overwhelming and you're not quite sure how to handle it. So you try to let it all soak up, and you start losing track of what came from where. Before you know it, you're stuck in this in between place where you know you need to leave, but you can't." She shook her head and frowned. "That probably didn't make sense."

"Actually, it kind of did," Aang promised. He was used to her confusing trains of thought. She had a very complex mind and often created theories that were tough to follow if you didn't know her well. "Though you talk about it as if you know exactly what this little disease is."

"You might say I've only recently been cured," Toph smiled darkly, this time looking as if she knew she was being purposefully vague. "It's surreal for a little bit, and you don't mind the excitement. But after that, you feel burned out and you need to stop on the side of the road and take a breath."

Aang gestured to their table and desserts she had just purchased. "So it this you taking a breather?"

"No," she replied quickly. "This is a full on vacation. You're the first familiar face I've seen in years. It's…nice."

"What is?" he asked.

"Wanting to stay here as opposed to feeling like I have to." She didn't elaborate any further and finished her dessert with a few final bites.

Aang never knew Toph to be this cryptic. Maybe it came with the age? Or maybe Ba Sing Se really affected people as much as she claimed it did. She made it sound like she really didn't want to come here at first, but reluctantly allowed the city to grow on her, maybe a little too much. Overindulgence? Yes, he supposed he could see that. Just looking around at the people he sometimes ran into, they seemed like they were all over the place trying to live up every little moment the city threw at them without bothering to stop. He never felt like that before, never felt like he needed to see and feel everything as if it would disappear when he blinked. But then again, living a quaint little life in the North Pole would do that to you.

It didn't look as if living in such a lively and rich city seemed to have affected Toph as much as she claimed it did. But what she said caused his heart to swell. He smiled at the compliment and finished his dessert quickly so that they could move on somewhere else.

"I really missed you, Toph." He wasn't sure why he felt like saying then and there. It just seemed like the right thing to say at the moment and the best way to sum up how he was feeling. He missed this. He really did. It was sweet to experience all over again.

Toph smiled at him—not in that unintentionally teasing or flirtatious way she had been smiling all night. This was a genuine smile filled with the youth that left behind all those years ago.

"Missed you too, Twinkles."

After they had finished up and left the shop, Aang walked her back to her own hotel, which was only a stone's throw away from his own. He figured it was the least that he could do after she had paid for a last minute little snack and spent the entire night with him. Besides, he didn't quite want to say goodbye to her just yet.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow?" Toph asked suddenly.

Aang turned to her and saw her shivering rather violently underneath the thin looking cloak she had brought with her. He didn't really think when he opened his coat and draped one side of it over her shoulders so that she would at least be a little more covered from the wind blowing through the streets. He found it akin to the times when she used to hang onto his arms whenever they were in a place where she couldn't see: nothing short of a friendly gesture.

He shook his head. "Not tomorrow, thank goodness. I could use a break anyway while Sokka's in bed complaining of a headache again."

Toph nodded and smirked. "Good. Then I call dibs on you. We're hanging out."

"I see, and do _I_ get a say in all this?" he asked.

"Of course," she smiled. She leaned her head on his shoulder, looked up at him pleadingly and spoke in a soft little whisper. "You could say yes."

Aang rolled his eyes at the actions and turned his head away from her before he even got to thinking that the face she had made was downright adorable. "That does not work on me, Toph Bei Fong, and you know it."

The girl grimaced and pulled his coat tighter around her. "Can't blame a blind girl for trying, though. But seriously…interested?"

"I dunno," he replied lazily. "Are we going to schmooze around in another dance hall?"

"Hey now, you were enjoying yourself the minute I showed up. Don't hide what's inside!"

"You were the only good part about that entire evening." The sentence made Aang visibly halt for a moment. That was a strange way to phrase it. He wasn't sure how deeply he had meant that. For a second, he looked at Toph and worried over how she had taken what he had said, but she must have skimmed over the innuendos that he didn't realize he had made and continued on right after him.

"Whatever you say," Toph chuckled. "I know what I saw. So how about it?"

By now they had been standing in front of her hotel and he realized that now was probably a good time to part ways and let her run upstairs so that she could rest. Her feet looked cold and he didn't want to keep her longer than he should have, but there was something so odd about having her wrapped up in his coat the way that she was. Not a bad sort of odd, but…definitely something that he wasn't accustomed to for some reason. He wasn't sure what aspect of it felt strange to him. It wasn't like he hadn't done similar things for her before in a friendly sort of gesture, and neither of them questioned the action when they were twelve and had nothing going for them except for a very raw and honest sort of friendship. But surely that was the same now. So what was different? Why did it _feel_ different?

He looked down at her again and he knew that she was expecting a response from him, one that he wasn't really mentally equipped to answer at the moment. He wasn't sure what had come over him, but something inside of his brain flickered on at that moment, something that hadn't been touched literally in years.

He was sure, because all of a sudden a rushing feeling came over him that he couldn't put a name to. It was a heady feeling, and maybe it was because he was tired or maybe it was because he was having so much fun with her that he was confusing his feelings. Maybe it was because he looked down at her and her eyes had taken on that lovely ghostly glow that they often did when it was the lighting was poor. Maybe he really, _really_ missed her, so much so that it was too much to deal with and he overreacted.

But thankfully, he caught himself and immediately backed away from her.

Toph was hit with the cold again as Aang tentatively stepped away from her and left her in front of the hotel. "Aang?"

His hands were on his forehead as if he were trying to force sense into his jumbled thoughts and he backed away further into the street, scared with himself. "I've gotta go."

Aang didn't wait for an answer before he did that old, childish thing that he did when he was a child and ran away from his problems the moment they started scaring him. Except this time, he all but darted like a bat out of hell and didn't look back. He was light and fast and was already around the corner before he heard Toph calling after him. He didn't stop, not even when he passed his own hotel.

He had wandered into a part of the city that he didn't recognize, and in the very back of his mind he groaned at the prospect of having to navigate all the way back. But that feeling that had so suddenly washed over him wasn't fading like he had thought it would, and he found himself leaning up against the wall of a building, wondering when it would go away. He shut his eyes and dug the heels of his palms into his eyes and slid down to the floor, ignoring the chill that ran through him. He couldn't quite explain how such an idea had come into his head, and he wasn't sure how he was meant to deal with the discovery now, nor how he should even approach it after this. But, frighteningly enough, he knew exactly what that destructive thought was.

At that moment, he had wanted to kiss her.

* * *

**A/N: **A three-shot, ladies and gentlemen. Two more chapters to go. And, of course, review!


	2. Symptomatic

**Edited: **8/31/12, 12:31AM EST

* * *

**Symptomatic**

* * *

The act of reorganizing one's closet was a dreary and rather uneventful activity, Aang knew this. The normality of it wouldn't particularly stick out to anyone, and it was just simple fact that most people participated in the mundane task at least once in a while.

However, Aang had partaken in the activity a total of seventeen times today.

His clothes were lined up by color, style, length, occasion, and fabric. His boots were placed much in a similar fashion. He even went so far as to polish the vanity mirror on the inside of the door and fill the drawers with little satchels of potpourri. It was unmanly, and had Sokka not been suffering across the hall with a hangover the entire day, Aang might have actually cared.

But this was how he dealt with his issues, and he had no shame returning to his wardrobe every half hour on the dot. When most people were troubled, they punched walls, wrote out their feelings, talked it out with other people, or went for long walks.

But this was Aang. And Aang reorganized his closet.

So it was no wonder that in the middle of the afternoon, instead of going outside and enjoying his day off, he was yanking out his clothing and reshuffling them for the eighteenth time that day. He had gotten up at the crack of dawn and went straight to work. Besides, he had all the time he needed. There were no meetings today that he needed to attend, all of the paperwork he brought with him was done, and he had already sent out his confirmation letters for all of his obligations in the coming month. He had absolutely nothing else better to do with his time…

Well, that wasn't completely true.

He completely ditched Toph today.

It wasn't as if he were purposefully attempting to piss her off or lead her on. Quite the opposite. In fact, this entire ruse was just a beautifully constructed plan of self preservation for them both.

Something clicked last night and completely threw him for a loop. He wasn't sure what caused it—she'd been gone so long, she was wearing his jacket, they were both fooling around and flirting more than they should have been, maybe he was finally losing his mind—but he experienced an urge that was impossible to ignore, even now.

Besides, all he needed was for him to totally lose it and actually act on that urge when he saw her again.

He couldn't even begin to describe the travesty that would unfold after that. He couldn't let something like that happen. It would ruin everything he had worked for years to pursue and build into something meaningful. It would take two seconds of immaturity and hormones, and he was fully determined to hold both traits at bay. But at the same time, his mind had a habit of getting away from him when he least expected it, and he found himself fantasizing about how he _wanted_ to end the evening had he not ran off. He couldn't deny that he enjoyed the prospect of such an act.

Aang groaned and allowed his head to collide with the wardrobe.

His conscience was split into two warring divisions: the one that believed in resolution, and the one that thought resolution was better replaced with retreat tactics. Being the adult that he liked to think that he was, he preached resolution whenever the opportunity arose. But—loathed as he was to admit it—he wasn't doing a very good job at following his own tenets.

Right now, he was flat out running and hiding, without an ounce of shame to back him up either.

…_maybe I should hang everything by outfit. _

After successfully revamping his wardrobe to his satisfaction—again—his door slammed open and bounced loudly against the wall. Covering his eyes with his arm, Sokka waltzed in obnoxiously with his moans and groans as his entrance music. He didn't even need to look before his legs collided with the edge of Aang's bed and toppled on the mattress and let out a noise that was a cross between a sob and a whine.

Aang sighed and closed the door to his wardrobe. He was expecting the warrior to come in here complaining of a headache that he wanted Aang to fix. Sokka wasn't very adept at natural remedies or medicine in general. That was Katara's department as he was more suited for far more aggressive pursuits. This meant that Aang was forced to wrack his brain for the few things that he managed to pick up from Katara over the years and deal with the symptoms. He was downright insufferable without any attention and he supposed that the distraction was welcomed.

"Your room is too fucking bright, Aang."

Aang walked over to the fireplace in the corner of the room. A fire was already started from when he had tea a few moments ago. "It's called sunlight, Sokka. I can't turn it off."

"Well then close the windows or something. I'm dying over here."

"It's your fault, Sokka. I warned you—I always warn you. But you never listen." Aang grabbed a small kettle, filled it with water, and fixed it above the fire as he waited for it to come to a boil. He shuffled through the cabinets for some suitable tea while Sokka called over to him from his bed.

"Can you at least make some of that tea that you brew? You know the one…"

Aang chuckled at the almost childlike quality to his voice. He wished he could somehow record it and play it back for Sokka later. The reaction would be hilarious. "I'm already way ahead of you. Just…stay under the covers."

Dealing with hangovers—well, _Sokka's_ hangovers—was a trial and error process, but Aang thought he finally found an effective remedy. Ginger tea with two teaspoons of honey every hour seemed to do the trick. Not to mention something about the brew seemed to mellow the warrior down considerably, which Aang did not complain about. Besides, some tea sounded good at the moment so the Airbender decided that his own cup of tea would perhaps calm his nerves and put some of his worries to rest.

Once he was done and the hot liquid was prepared and poured, Aang pulled together two chairs at the small breakfast table near his windows and dragged Sokka over to sit down. He even closed the curtains so that his headache wouldn't feel quite so horrible. Once they both sat down with their tea and took sips, Sokka's complaints slowly lessened.

"Ah…this is it. You have a gift for healing, man. My sister is rubbing off on you, I see."

"No, I just happen to have a lot of practice," Aang smirked from behind his own cup of tea. "Thank you, by the way."

Sokka frowned. "Hey, lay off. At least I'm not coming into your room and acting like a girl about it."

Aang chuckled into his cup and hid his smile. "So you think."

Normally, the task was rather cumbersome, but Aang didn't have anything to do today—well…anything that was _safe_ and _sensible_—and variety was always welcomed. Besides, Sokka wasn't leaving him much of a choice in the matter and looked as if he were making himself rather comfortable in his room, so Aang didn't see the point in arguing the fact. It would have seemed strange if he kicked him out, anyway.

Aang was about to begin another conversation before Sokka stared curiously at the tea that the Airbender had brewed for himself. The warrior pointed at the cup with a raised brow and questioned Aang. "What the hell is that?"

Aang shrugged. "Tea."

"No, I mean what _kind_ of tea?"

"Black tea. Why?"

Sokka stared at Aang as if he just told him that grass and trees were really made out of sugar and candy. "…you hate black tea."

Aang frowned and averted his gaze. "I never said that," he muttered.

"Yes you did," Sokka insisted. "You blow a fit whenever they serve it at restaurants. You only drink black tea when you're pissed or sulking. I know you."

Aang frowned. "Does it really matter? I felt like trying it today, it really isn't that big of a deal."

The warrior wasn't buying the story. In fact, Aang could have sworn that all of a sudden, confusion turned into recognition as something suddenly lit up in Sokka's mind. Aang's eyes were already widening and he was already begging Sokka before the Water Tribe man even got up from his seat.

"Come on, don't do it—"

The wardrobe doors were thrown open and Sokka smiled in triumph. "I fucking knew it. Your goddamn closet is color-coded, Aang. What the hell happened last night?"

"Nothing!" Aang stated, exasperated. "Why do you have to assume that something happened?"

Sokka pointed to the closet and smirked as if that was the only response Sokka really needed to give. "Color. Coded. Again, I know you. Now, what happened to you?"

Aang dropped his head to the table and rubbed his eyes. What was he supposed to say? Tell Sokka that even though he was dating his sister he ran into his best friend the other day and seriously considered ravishing her after only hanging out with her for a few hours? And now, instead of realizing his stupidity, he was still considering the idea?

No. He promised himself today that he would resort to retreat tactics. As much as he treasured having Sokka as a friend, this was definitely not something that he should have been telling him. It was a conflict of interests—what with the brother his girlfriend being right in front of him—and Aang knew that he would not like the outcome if Sokka got particularly upset, which was practically inevitable.

But…he needed to tell someone _something_. If only to keep his sanity in check and convince himself that he wasn't the only one and that he wasn't acting crazy. Sokka was a fellow male friend, and if anyone could put his doubts to rest, it would be him. But he had to subtle and discreet. He was sure he could manage doing that, at the very least.

_Just need to change the conversation_, he told himself. _I'm sure I can manage to come up with something…_

An idea immediately popped into Aang's head. Something that he was told about a year ago that might just tilt the conversation away from him and get him some answers. Was it a particularly good idea? He didn't really think so, but stranger circumstances have turned in his favor. However, he really didn't have many options that fulfilled both requirements he was looking for. Sokka was the only one he knew that would give him a blunt enough answer to satisfy his curiosity. Plus, he seemed to know a lot about how to deal with these issues and had many opinions regarding them. This was his best course of action.

He spoke slowly. "You remember last year, right? Zuko broke it off with Mai, you remember."

If Sokka was confused by the seemingly abrupt change of topic, he didn't show it. Instead, the warrior's face filled with an emotion Aang couldn't name. It made his features grow rigid. "Yeah," he answered evenly. "What about it?"

"I heard that you went to talk to him about it. That's what Katara said anyway." Aang looked down into the brown liquid in his teacup and tried to word his next statement carefully. "The relationship didn't just fall apart, did it? One of them pushed it over the edge…"

A tired sigh—something that he wasn't accustomed from hearing from the energetic warrior—broke the momentary silence. Sokka ran his fingers through his loose hair. "I mean…what brought this up?"

_Me and my goddamn hormones, that's what_. "I saw a few couples at the dance hall…something bothered me…"

He was being vague—very vague. But he hoped that it was just the right amount. Sokka always told him that he was extremely sensitive to certain situations that didn't normally bother other people, especially when it concerned the emotions of those around him. He figured that the lie wasn't too far-fetched. But something about Sokka's expression worried him…did he not believe it? Was he trying to tell if Aang was lying and then pull the truth out of him? They had never sat through such an awkward silence in a long time. It bothered Aang immensely.

Sokka sighed again. "What's your question?"

His response was immediate. "Why did he do it? What happened?"

The warrior shrugged and winced as he drank his tea. His headache must have been coming back. "Honestly? I'm not totally sure he told me the truth. Understandable, of course, but I could tell he really couldn't tell anyone the truth. Not even me, and we got pretty close after everything calmed down, you know?"

Aang nodded and urged the warrior to continue.

"He explained that humans are innately incapable of being stagnant," he began explaining. "Whatever the hell that means. Personally, I think he was just coming up with excuses for himself. Monogamy has been proven to work. It's what I've grown up with, so I know that he's full of shit. But after I chewed him out about his lame ass excuses, he mentioned something else."

Aang was suddenly not very concerned about his tea anymore. "What?"

Sokka cleared his throat. "That everyone needs a full set to be happy. We aren't born with one, so we seek out other people to complete our sets."

"A full set of what?"

"He didn't tell me," Sokka shrugged. "Personally I think he was babbling at this point because he knew he got caught." He looked up at Aang and noted the confusion in the other's face. "Forget it, it's not going to make sense—"

The Airbender shook his head. "No, no, no. Keep going. Incomplete sets of something. And?"

"Just that when you don't receive a full set from someone, you go out and look around at other sets until you find the missing pieces that you need. That way, you're complete and ready to go."

Aang shook his head. It all sounded very cryptic—very Zuko—and he wasn't sure he knew quite enough about this to fully understand what Sokka was telling him. "What did you say after that?"

"What do you think? That you start running into problems the minute you start mixing with more than one set. It's not the same. It's not special anymore. It's just a run of the mill collection that has no value. Cheap. Tacky. I don't recommend it." Sokka drank more tea. "He didn't say anything after that. So I left. I was kind of pissed at him, you know? Didn't even apologize. Justified his actions by spoon feeding me philosophical crap."

Zuko was definitely the type for diversions such as those. It was one of those things that he picked up from his uncle and turned into a bad thing. He clung to philosophy to pull him out of difficult situations and he could almost picture the Fire Lord's fruitless attempts at trying to justify his impure intentions.

"How's Mai?" Aang questioned.

Sokka shrugged. "I tried contacting her, but you know she's never liked me much. She wouldn't even talk to Ty Lee about it, according to Suki. Not that I blame her…"

Aang never heard any of this. In fact, in all the times he had written and even gone to see Zuko, it was an unspoken agreement that the issue wouldn't be mentioned. Aang wasn't really angry with him—more disappointed—so nothing much changed in terms of their dynamic. But then again, he didn't hear Zuko's explanation, and though he was sure he still didn't fully understand it, it didn't stop the sick feeling he developed when he remembered back to what he thought of doing last night. It was the entire reason he decided to let out his frustration in this way. He didn't realize it was only going to serve to confuse him even more.

What came over the Fire Lord when he laid his eyes upon this new woman that completely stole his attention from the wife he had been with for years? Aang couldn't believe that anyone's presence could ever be that potent, but he realized suddenly that he had experienced a taste for it first hand. To think that Zuko had actually managed to abandon all of his honor that he preached so passionately for one person.

Sokka broke his train of thought. "Where did this come from? What did you see?"

"A fight," Aang lied immediately. "Some guy caught his girlfriend in the back rooms with another guy doing who knows what. It must have been bad. It got kind of violent."

Sokka frowned. "I didn't see that happen…were they outside?"

Aang nodded. "When I went out to get fresh air."

"Ah," Sokka smirked. "You mean when you ditched me."

The Avatar winced and at least had the decency to look ashamed. "I apologized for that already," Aang pleaded. "Give me a break."

Sokka laughed and waved off the comment, downing the last of his tea and relaxing into his chair. They both knew that Aang had bailed Sokka out of enough of trouble for them to overlook such a minor little mistake on Aang's part. At least Sokka didn't have that intense look on his face anymore. He looked a little less on edge, and the pot of tea would be here whenever he needed it. At least Aang had accomplished something useful today. Not counting the many useless endeavors in his closet from this morning, of course.

"Seriously, though," Sokka asked. "You're good, right?"

The nod that Aang gave was incredibly forced, but he was at least thankful that it was realistic enough to pass Sokka's standards and set the warrior's mind at ease. _At least that makes one of us. _He still felt strangely unsatisfied—as if all of his questions just kept splitting into two and multiplying faster than he could keep up. Honestly, he sort of regretted asking in the first place.

His dilemma had unfortunately worsened, and it was bothering him more than he would have liked.

* * *

"So…where are we?"

Sokka slapped Aang on the back and caused the Airbender to lurch forward. "The beginning of a very good night, my friend. Plus it'll get you out of your funk. Two birds with one stone."

"I'm not in a funk," he countered with a roll of his eyes. "I'm just tired."

Sokka frowned and pushed Aang towards the building. "From what, redecorating your wardrobe? Now you're just giving excuses."

This wasn't the evening Aang had in mind. He had expected Sokka to still have the remnants of a headache so that he could stay home and be in peace. But what he forgot was that Sokka could negotiate trade agreements and _win_ under the effects of a hangover. It would have been an admirable ability had that not also meant that he could go out and have fun for multiple nights in a row with no problem. How a boy who grew up in a tiny, uneventful village managed to develop such a tolerance for night life, Aang would never know.

Aang groaned as he was shoved through the front door of the large establishment. He was supposed to be home moping and feeling sorry for himself, not walking into shady and mysterious buildings with no idea what he was getting himself into. Sokka didn't give him much to go on. He insisted that he wasn't about to sit in the hotel all day and wanted to do something fun tonight even if it killed him. However, when it came to having a good time, Aang's and Sokka's opinions varied immensely. The Airbender wasn't sure he was going to like what he was about to see.

Lo and behold, he was all too right.

He stopped, observed, and immediately ran back.

Unfortunately, Sokka was directly behind him, and no amount of Airbending agility was able to keep the warrior from grabbing him and pulling him deeper into the room.

"Oh, come on!" Sokka insisted as he quickly wrenched him away from the exit. "You just walked in and haven't given it a chance yet. Don't tell me you're about to weasel out on me now."

Aang pointed his finger accusingly at the stage in the front of the room. "I am _not_ staying here and watching _that_."

The room was dominated by a large stage that was currently holding three scantily clad young women dancing together in a way that was anything but innocent. Their legs were slipping out of the long slits in their dresses, which gave the men below them at the tables the opportunity to slip coins into the purses strapped to their ankles. All of the waitresses were dressed similarly and carrying over drinks and food from the bar in the corner. They all walked by with leers and winks and Aang suddenly felt far too exposed in such a place. It didn't help that most of the patrons here were old men that were absolutely shameless about their staring.

The rates that indicated how long you could be with a girl for the night were what did it for Aang. He definitely could not stay here.

Sokka looked offended. "How could you say that? These girls have been practicing all night to make men like us happy and entertained. Don't tell me you're going to let their efforts go to waste."

"I think they have plenty of men to swoon over them without our help." The entire hall was filled to the brim with men from all over the city. All the tables and chairs were filled and people were resorting to sitting on the windowsills just to get a good look at the dancing on stage. Aang turned his head away in disgust at the lewd displays of entertainment. He never liked these places. It was bad enough he forced himself to come to dance halls. At least there all he had to deal with was the loud music.

This, on the other hand, was the very definition of poor taste.

Sokka immediately pulled him down into a seat, much to Aang's embarrassment. "Since when do you some to places like this?" the Airbender asked.

"Someone from that meeting yesterday told me that he comes here all the time to let loose a little steam," Sokka explained to him. "I've actually never been here, but you were looking absolutely miserable between staying home holed up with your clothes all day and the look on your face after I told you about Zuko. I figured this would cheer you up and bring out your fun side."

Aang stared disbelievingly at him. "I'm just struggling to comprehend how this is going to help me." Honestly, one minute his friend and speaking with him on a serious and honest level. Next, he was making a horrible situation even ten times worse by adding more potential guilt to the equation.

"It's going to make you forget about your issues and just live a little bit. Honestly, no one will recognize you and reveal your intentions, and even if they did it's not like anyone here would rat you out. We're just watching some _very_ beautiful girls show off their skills. Why can't you enjoy that?"

_Because I'm already having fidelity issues,_ Aang thought miserably. This was the last place he needed to be.

Sokka observed the panicked look on Aang's face and immediately dropped his face into his hands. His voice came out laced with annoyance. "It's just innocent fun, you little prude. Just sit down and enjoy it."

"I fail to see how not wanting to see women degrade themselves in front of salivating perverts makes me a prude," the Airbender argued.

The warrior looked affronted. "Are you calling me a salivating pervert?"

Aang ignored his attempts at lightening the mood. "Let's go!"

Sokka was about to continue the argument, but the music and dancing had stopped and the escorts were now filing into the crowd and serving drinks. A few of them with nothing to do were sitting down at tables and talking to some prospective clients and trying to get them to pay for one night of company. Sokka was looking a little too excited for someone who had a girlfriend at home and Aang couldn't help grabbing his friend's wrist and stopping him from pursuing a girl who had walked by with no one next to her.

"Suki?"

"Don't pull the girlfriend card, Aang. It's not like I'm going to sleep with her or anything," Sokka promised. "I just feel bad, you know? She's all by herself…"

"Don't even think about it," Aang scolded. "What did you just get finished telling me at the hotel? How could you come to a whore house only a few hours later?"

He was wondering whether it was a good idea confiding to Sokka about these issues after all. It seemed that Sokka was quicker to do anything in order to feel the rush of adrenaline and excitement than to actually think through what this would do to his loyalty in the future.

Sokka rolled his eyes and wrenched his hand free. "Like I'd go that low as to screw some random prostitute. I'm just going to…hang out with her for a little bit. They're all gorgeous. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Aang paused his attempts at persuasion and couldn't respond to him. He shook his head and tried to force out a response. "But…you can't…"

He trailed off and couldn't finish his sentence. Sokka had realized that he had rendered the Airbender speechless and smirked in his victory. Another buxom young brunette passed him by and Sokka winked at the find. Without another word of protest, Sokka disappeared into the crowd and pursued the girl before Aang could do anything to stop him.

The worse part of this whole thing was that he didn't trust Sokka to keep his promise after seeing the way that Sokka had stared at the women on the stage. It was pure, unadulterated hunger in his eyes and Aang wasn't sure if that was the look of a man that was intent on surpressing his urges for too long. He knew that Sokka liked to preach the fact that he was always faithful to Suki, but something about the way he immediately chased after that girl made it seem like he would have a lot of explaining to do afterwards.

Sokka had strange tenets, he realized. He was a firm believer in the "Look, Don't Touch" saying and implemented it whenever he could. It was why going to bars like this was perfectly alright, but Zuko was automatically a monster because he dared to touch. Aang didn't bother trying to pin logic to his beliefs. If Sokka was anything, it was stubborn. No matter how much proof or common sense he was fed, nothing deterred him. He just hoped that the warrior was right and that no one would recognize him and tell the famous Head Kyoshi Warrior about what her boyfriend did on his business trips.

Aang thought about running after the warrior, but thought against it. There wasn't much he could do to. Sokka would no doubt get even more annoyed and the altercation would turn into a full-blown argument that might last for days, and the monk preferred to avoid that. Besides, now that his friend was gone, maybe he could find a way to get out of here. He was fully disturbed at the moment and he really wanted to clear his head in a place that didn't reek of sex and debauchery.

Aang was about to get up and see if he could get himself a drink before a young girl—younger than him—dressed rather suggestively asked him if she could get him anything. Feeling horrible, he asked for some tea as politely as he could before settling back into his seat and closing his eyes.

He wasn't aware that there were places like these when he first visited Ba Sing Se all those years ago. It seemed like a cultured utopia that wouldn't allow such establishments to sully its reputation. But as he introduced himself to the world that the monks had closed him away from, he realized that the cities he had read about had darker more perverse personalities. To think that such rich looking men would wander down the Lower Ring and partake in such indulgences. It shocked him when he had first learned of such things, but seeing his own friend join the mix bothered him. He suddenly felt very filthy.

He didn't belong here. He didn't have the heart to partake in things like this. None of these girls appealed to him, what with their made up faces and desperate attempts at attention. He didn't think he could go through with something like this and was sure that he would prefer Katara's company to this. Surely, he didn't have the capacity for this sort of betrayal. So why was he so strongly doubting himself today.

The girl came back quickly and Aang was able to get a better look at her as she set the teacup down and began pouring the boiling water in front of him. She was no older than sixteen, although the make up she was wearing attempted to make her look a lot older. The dress was too low on top and too short on the bottom, and she already had a few coins stuffed into her pockets and the little purse she kept clipped to her hip. He wondered if she eve enjoyed having this job.

She finished pouring the tea and smiled at him. "Will you be needing anything else, sir?"

Aang sipped the tea politely and smiled kindly, but he needed to get away. The perfume from all of these women was giving him a headache and there were two people in the back corner who looked like they were about to start something that was better suited for the bedroom. Maybe he could find a nice little restaurant, have some dinner, and go home.

"You wouldn't know a quicker way out here would you?" Aang asked the girl. "I kind of don't want to push through all of those people." By now, the bar was so crowded that getting back out through the main entrance was a hopeless task.

The girl nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't mind at all."

Aang offered her the tea to take back, but she shook her head and sat down in front of him. "Finish. I can wait."

He raised a brow at the offer but didn't offer a response. He assumed she was just being kind and letting him finish what he had ordered. That or she wanted to collect the money from him once she was finished. She was giving him a strange look, however. She was smiling to herself and looked a little too happy to be sitting near him. He was about to tell her that he had no intention of taking advantage of her services, but he figured that ignoring the batting of her lashes and her attempts to push her breasts up higher would be enough of a message. Looking at these girls made him feel worse.

He finished his drink quickly and have her the empty cup to quickly return to the kitchen. The smell of this place was giving him a headache. It was a mixture of perfume, alcohol, and sex, and he didn't understand how people could spend so much time in a place like this. It was a horrid atmosphere and his head just kept pounding at the very thought of it. Maybe he was stressing too much today and it was exacerbating the headache. He really needed to get something into his stomach and go back to his suite where he could sleep off the horrible day.

The girl returned and beckoned him towards the back of the bar. Aang got to his feet and started to follow the girl to the back of the bar, probably where a back door was accessible. Finally, he could get some fresh air. The cold would do him some good.

All of a sudden, as if he had been hit roughly in the back of his head, his vision immediately began to swim. It started gradually, and at first he thought that he had just momentarily dizzied himself. However, as he walked through the spacious room, figures started blurring together, and soon he couldn't see straight. He leaned over and clutched the edge of an empty table in order to collect his bearings. He blinked and shook his head a little but and excused it as a dizzy spell due to exhaustion. But the disorientation wasn't going away. He lifted a hand to his eyes and rubbed at them furiously.

"Sir…are you alright?"

No, he wasn't. He could feel his heartbeat in his head and he all of a sudden felt like he needed to lie down.

The girl had wrapped an arm around his shoulders and lifted some of his weight in order to help him walk. It seemed that she was quick to help him. Then again, how many drunk men must she have led out of here with similar symptoms? It must have been an automatic response, so he trusted her to lead him to the exit for now. This was not the night he was looking forward to tonight.

The lights were dimming and he assumed that they had entered a back hallway. She whispered for him to wait for a moment and left him against a wall. It was then that his body started to feel quite heavy. Standing was suddenly becoming very difficult and he could feel the limbs trembling. This wasn't normal, and definitely couldn't have been brushed off as simply exhaustion. Maybe he was sick? He had been overworking himself lately and staying late in meetings this whole week. Add in the fact that he hadn't slept much last night—his mind on stressful things—it would explain the behavior. It just bothered him how suddenly it had come over him.

The girl returned and whispered into his ear that she would help him until he was able to get somewhere where he could rest. Aang furrowed his brow. Why was she helping him so much? She didn't know him and he hadn't paid her any money for her efforts. She could have called another man—or her manager for that matter—to have someone kick him out and get him back to his hotel. Why was she being so attentive? And further more, why was it taking so long to get to this damn back door? His head was killing him and he couldn't barely see through his blurry vision. No, something wasn't right…

They entered a new room, and he heard the door shut along with a series of pops and clicks that he couldn't discern. Was it the lock to the door? But why would the lock be messed with? They should be outside, and they most assuredly weren't.

He was propped up against a wall and Aang wondered if they were outside. He blinked and forced his eyes to focus. He didn't look like he was anywhere near an exit. Instead, he was in a dimly lit room that reeked of incense and more perfume. The walls were covered in dark green paper and the floor was covered with cheap rugs. In the middle of the room was a large bed covered in pillows and sheets complete with a canopy of green satin.

His eyes widened. _Shit…no she didn't…_

In his confused state, it took him a couple of minutes to realize where exactly he ended up, but by the time the realization came to him, it was too late.

The girl came up from behind him quicker than his dulled senses could realize, and she easily shoved him into the bed. He fell on his back with a grunt and immediately sat up on his elbows to see the girl crawling over him with a predator's glare shining in her eyes. She did not hesitate in coming up to his ear and whispering slowly.

"I hope you don't mind, mister," she chuckled darkly. "I figured that you could use a little fun…"

Aang flinched when she felt her cold hands lift his shirt and start tracing patterns onto his abdomen. He immediately realized what sort of position he was in and immediately started panicking.

"What the…w-what are you doing…?" he mumbled. His head was hurting too much to think.

The girl smirked and shrugged. "What? You looked lonely. Besides, you're way to fucking irresistible to let go to waste."

She caught Aang by surprise once she started kissing down his chest and nipping the skin as she went down. Her lips were coated in makeup and he could feel the sticky rouge sticking to his skin unpleasantly and could also hear the smacking sounds her lips were making each time she removed her lips from his skin. He was about to push back, but his limbs suddenly felt very heavy and for some reason the room was heating up quickly. Despite how much he wanted to push the girl away, his arms wouldn't listen to the signals his brain was sending and the heat that was overcoming him was beginning to be too distracting.

"Hm…" the girl hummed over his navel. "I know you feel awful…the drug should be kicking in in a few minutes…just give it time. I'll make you feel real good soon…"

_What? A drug? What drug?_

Aang should have known. This was a horrible place. He knew that this wasn't where he wanted to be, and now he was stick in a situation that he couldn't get himself out of. Katara had told him a lot about medicines and herbs, but he had never read about anything that could do this. He could feel the sweat forming on his temples and he was too weak and disoriented to push this disgusting girl away from him. He started panicking once he felt her fingering the hem of his pants. He was absolutely helpless.

Aang tried to wriggle away from her. "H-hey, _hey!_ This isn't funny…look I don't want any trouble—"

"Aw," she cooed. "You don't want any trouble? You're adorable…"

This girl might have been young, but she knew exactly what she was doing. He heard that these places trained their employees well before they had them go out and entertain guests, but this was ridiculous. Every time he tried to get up, she would press down on his hips and force him down while she continued her work. He cringed away each time her lips connected with his skin. He had only ever done this with Katara and he didn't want this to turn into something he was going to regret and feel guilty about for the rest of his life. But…he couldn't push her off.

"Just…get the hell off of me!" It was like trying to push a boulder off of him. He couldn't get his body to cooperate with him and help him out of this situation.

The girl scoffed and advanced back up to his neck. Her teeth lightly nibbled on the thin, sensitive skin and Aang cringed away from the sensation, his gut coiling and churning in disgust. "Are you kidding? You don't just come in here for a few drinks, sweetheart. Plus, I have a requirement to uphold. We're helping each other. Just shut up and enjoy it…"

No. No, _no_, this wasn't happening to him. Fighting back was absolutely useless at this point, and he hoped that he could at least talk her out of what she was doing. But he was failing under the power of her persistence. "But…I have a…"

He managed to find strength enough to nudge his neck away from her once he felt her kisses start to trickle to his collarbone. "A girlfriend?" she scoffed. She allowed a laugh to trickle through afterwards and sat back on her feet as she regarding the motionless boy. "God, you're serious."

The girl shook her head and started lightly trailing her fingers up and down his arms and stomach. "Let me tell you how things work around here. We keep secrets very well. We don't take names, we don't tattle, and we live off of your pleasure. That's all this business is. Your girlfriend doesn't have to know a thing, sweetie." She leaned to his ear, her lips pressing right up against the shell, and whispered as sensually as she was capable of doing.

"It'll be our little secret, gorgeous."

…_what?_

No, not this again. He wouldn't betray Katara like this. Not with _this_ person of all people. The drug must not have taken effect fully yet, because while he couldn't get away, each kiss along his jaw filled him with a wave of disgust. He tried to bend, but nothing was coming. The drug must have been blocking his chi as wel. He struggled more, but it only served to momentarily dissuade her. She took it as embarrassment and continued with her efforts with more fervor. Aang's tried shouting from behind the locked door, but the girl simply laughed at his efforts as she reached once more towards his pants.

"Don't bother," she said, unbuttoning his pants little by little. "No one can hear you back here. Besides, that door's locked up tight." She patted the front of her dress and Aang saw that the key was peeking out from under the folds of her dress.

The Airbender tried to roll off of the bed, but he only managed to get onto his side and delay the girl even further. Maybe Sokka would notice that he was gone and come and save him. At this rate, he couldn't get out of here on his own. He was too disoriented to do anything for himself, and soon this girl would be getting more than just a hefty sum of money out of him.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the doorknob jiggle and shake. The metal clanged up against the frame of the knob and the attempts of the person on the other side of the door grew more frantic. The girl on top of him didn't seem to be paying the noise any mind, probably used to people trying to interrupt her while she was in the middle of a conquest. The hem of his pants was finally being peeled back and the monk closed his eyes and tried to wretch himself away.

Then, he heard a loud bang in front of him followed by a loud stomp. He opened his eyes and saw that the door that had been rattling was now flung open. He got a good look at the hallway and saw that the doors outside looked similar to this one. He had been tricked into walking back into the private rooms. He wondered who in the world could have possibly found him here, but his thoughts were interrupted as he saw a rock collide directly with the side of the girl's head. She didn't even have time to shout in protest before she landed on Aang's chest completely unconscious. Aang struggled to support his weight on his elbows again and tried looking around the room.

He saw a slight figure standing in the corner of the room, still stuck in a lazy Earthbending stance. They lowered their arms and advance towards him. His instinct was to back away again—afriad that this was another whore ready to finish what the first one started—but the person simply rolled the scantily clad employee on the other side of the bed and kneeled down next to him on the floor. Aang willed his eyes to focus.

The new guest cursed under their breath and placed a hand on his forehead. "Fuck, Twinkle Toes, you're burning up."

Even under his less-than-stable state, Aang recognized that voice anywhere and relief suddenly filled his body like a warm fire. "Toph…" he smiled.

The Earthbender nodded. "Lovely to see you again, too. Now stop talking will you? You've got a serious fever..."

He felt the girl try to lift him up into a sitting position and he groaned in protest at the exertion. "She…the girl…she…"

"Don't worry about her, idiot. Worry about the fact that I'm trying to save you, yeah?" Toph waved his continued questions away. She quickly removed her cloak and began patting the droplets of sweat that had formed on his forehead. He hadn't realized that he had been sweating so much and suddenly wondered what this drug would do to his body after it wore off. From Toph's worried expression on her face, he gathered that this was serious.

She got up and started throwing drawers open. She was feeling around the insides until she found what she was looking for. She pulled a cup from the drawer and advanced towards the pitcher of water that was on a table in the back. Toph poured him a drink, but not before she tasted it herself. She nodded—probably deemed it safe to drink—and thrust it into his hands.

"Can you hold that?" Aang nodded and gripped the cup to show her. "Good. Drink. All of it."

He immediately oblidged and sighed as the water soothed the dry feeling in the back of his throat. He finished it all in one gulp. "Look…I wasn't trying to—"

"I know, I know," Toph interrupted. "The chicks here are ruthless. I've no doubt that idiot did this to you," she scowled at the unconscious prostitute. "Did you order anything?" Toph quickly questioned. "Food? A drink? Did she slip you anything at all?"

Aang nodded and slowly brought a hand up to his head. "Yeah…uh…a cup of tea. Tasted funny…"

Toph scowled bitterly and cursed again. "I'll bet it did…do me a favor and don't drink it next time?"

The Airbender nodded and didn't dare say anything. Toph was the last person he had expected to run into tonight, but had absolutely no good sense left to be scared or embarrassed in front of her right now. All he needed was to get out of this place and back to his hotel where he knew nothing weird would happen to him anymore. This was the absolute last time he listened to Sokka. He had had enough of this and he did not want to run into any more trouble like this. He needed a bed, a shower, and a lot of sleep. No more night prowling. He was done.

"Can you walk?"

Aang nudged his legs and shook his head. Nothing was working and the heat was making his head pound even further. Toph rubbed a hand down her face and sighed in frustration. She tapped her feet on the floor—probably a normal person's equivalent of looking around a room—and immediately advanced towards the girl on the bed. She dug through pockets until she located a small ring of keys. Deeming the find suitable, she returned to Aang's side.

Toph, though quite small, was thankfully very strong and managed to lift Aang up onto his feet and sling his arm over her shoulders. She wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him walk to the door with shaky steps. "Come on," she muttered. "We need to get you outside."

He was barely aware of where they were going, but Toph seemed to know her way around this place and had quickly managed to lead them down a hallway and passes a bunch of confused patrons and female employees. Aang was too busy nursing his headache and Toph was too busy trying to keep Aang upright. He was sure that his weight was slowly starting to become too much for her since he was so much taller than her.

With one hand, she fingered through a few of the keys on the ring she had stolen and tried each one on the lock. Aang didn't interfere with her concentration and simply focused on trying not to put too much of his weight on her frail shoulders. He heard the click of a lock and the hiss of success that left Toph's lips. She managed to kick open another door and lead him into the dark alley along the side of the bar.

It was freezing outside, and he was pretty sure that he left his coat on the back of his seat in the main room. His vision was clearing up by now, and he noticed that Toph was worse off than he was. She was dressed only in pants and a halter-styled top. He saw her shivering.

He expected her to take him to a building or to a warmer place than the stone cold floor, but that was exactly where she gracelessly dropped him. He hit the floor roughly and groaned at the pain, but Toph quickly waved off his protests.

"The cold will sober you up," Toph explained. "You need to get your strength back so you can start walking again."

Aang knew after years of being her closest friend when to take her authoritative tone seriously or jokingly. This was one of those times where he didn't argue and simply trusted her judgment. He wondered how exactly she knew so much about this, but decided not to question her, since she seemed confident in her knowledge. So Aang stood quiet and leaned his head against the wall behind him and allowed the cool temperature to heal his headache.

"Ugh…my head is pounding…"

Toph nodded in understanding. She settled onto the ground near him and rubbed his shoulders. "Just stick with it, Twinkle Toes. It'll go away."

That was easier said than done. The sluggish lethargy was slowly starting to fade away and was being replaced by a warm feeling spreading through the entirety of his body. It made him feel even hotter than before and he suddenly understood why Toph was keeping him outside.

They stood that way for a while. Aang was trying to ignore the heat building up in his body, and Toph alternated between rubbing his shoulders, his thighs, and his arms. At first, he didn't understand the actions, but he quickly realized what she was trying to accomplish. Small bursts of feeling were quickly starting to radiate through his nerves and he was able to move a few of his limbs without too much trouble. There was something strange about the way she knew exactly what to do and what to look for. It was as if she had done this a thousand times and had helped many people in ways similar to this one. What sort of people was Toph involved with here in the city. How did she learn how to do this?

Through the lessening of the pain in his arms and legs, he remembered that there was still a question nudging his brain. "Why were you even here?"

Toph scoffed and continued to massage feeling into his limbs. "I should ask you the same question, although knowing you, you were suckered in there by someone, am I right?"

Aang rolled his eyes, but didn't have the energy to refute the claim. He might as well just let Toph win all of the arguments right now. He wasn't exactly at his witty best at the moment. In fact, he was almost positive this drug was only getting started on messing up his system.

Toph seemed to realize that Aang wasn't satisfied with her evasion of the question and sighed dramatically. She muttered something about that being good enough and stopped her ministrations. Aang immediately felt a touch better and silently thanked her for her efforts.

The Earthbender turned her gaze in his general direction. "It was business. A guy owed me money," she explained briefly. "I heard he cheats on his wife here, so I paid him a visit. I happened to see you back here and decided to give in to curiosity, figuring I would surprise you." She laughed bitterly. "Thank goodness I did."

Aang ignored the latter half of the statement in favor of the former. "Cheats on his wife?"

Toph nodded. "Unfortunately. In fact, a lot of old geezers come here and leave their poor women at home. Tragic, isn't it?"

Aang nodded. It seemed like no matter what he did, things just kept returning the very subject that he wanted to avoid and not have to deal with. It was almost as if the universe wanted him to just own up to this and stop ignoring it. Not that this was easy to do now that his body was shutting down on him, but he supposed there was really nothing else he could do other than to confront it. Maybe then everything would calm down. Though, he sort of wished he was doing this under better circumstances. This wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

Either way, Aang relaxed against the cold stone of the building again, reveling in the chill it provided him with. "Thanks…for getting me out of there."

Toph shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "All in a day's work. I've heard it done to others and like hell I was going to leave you in there."

"Really?"

Toph frowned. "I know I used to tell you that an innocent thing like you could benefit from some first hand learning, but this wasn't really what I meant. Those are _not_ the people to learn from."

Aang groaned. "Obviously. But it wasn't my fault."

"Actually, it was," she answered simply. "You don't really need to worry at the dancehalls much. Bartenders aren't going to do much except wipe your drool from the counter once you finally pass out. Escort halls like this one," she pointed to the building behind Aang, "are filled with cut throat bitches that take advantage of new customers and steal their money. You know, like you."

He figured as much. A guy that was sitting by himself and was not enjoying the scenery around him must have been a pretty easy looking target. He wasn't excusing the behavior, but he couldn't exactly blame the girl for trying.

"Do I really scream 'innocent loser' so eloquently?" he replied sarcastically.

Toph shook her head and smiled, recognizing the monk's diversion into friendly banter. "I would go with 'naïve pretty boy' personally, but you're your own judge," she shrugged.

Aang laughed. He looked up at her and noticed that she was smiling as well. Again, it was not a coy smile made in front of other people. It was a like a private little joke between them and Aang's heart swelled at the sight.

His fever was still raging and his body still felt very hot. He also noticed that his skin tingled wherever Toph had managed to touch him earlier. His skin had become super sensitive, and he was all of a sudden aware of that the girl meant by giving the drug time to kick in. He assumed that waiting out the effects would be for the best, and Toph didn't seem in any hurry to leave him alone. Like a good, stubborn friend, she would stay until he felt better.

Figuring that he might as well use up the empty time that he had, he decided top stop bypassing what he had been attempting to avoid all day. With all that had happened, he figured that he might as well get this over with while he had Toph in front of him.

"Hey…" he muttered.

Toph wrapped her arms around her arms and started rubbing them up and down again, just like she did last night. He realized suddenly that she wasn't exactly properly dressed for the weather. "Yeah?" she whispered.

Aang took pity on her and took off the sweater he was wearing on top of his clothes. He threw it to her and told her to put it on before she froze again like last night when he had to give her his coat. She smiled and thanked him and he was suddenly overcome by images from last night that he had spent all day today trying to forget.

"I just," he began tentatively. "I wanted to apologize…"

Toph frowned as she rolled up the long sleeves so that she could expose her hands. "For what? You didn't do anything wrong. I told you, I wasn't about to—"

"No," Aang stopped her. "It's not about this. It's about…well…I sort of ran off on you last night."

Lines formed on her forehead as she puzzled over what he had just said. She must not have realized what he was talking about for a moment, but suddenly recalled the event and her eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, that?"

"What do you mean 'Oh, that?' It was rude. I wanted to apologize."

Toph moved to sit directly across from him and tucked her knees up to her chest. "I mean…you don't really need to. I figured it was one of those Airbender things that you do. Though…you seemed kind of freaked out. I was more worried than offended, I promise."

"Worried?"

"Of course," Toph exclaimed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You ran off like you saw Ozai come back to kill you or something. It probably wouldn't have bothered me if your heart didn't jump right before you bolted. I figured something was wrong, but you were gone before I could ask."

Aang knew Toph well enough to know that she loved being nosy and digging into other people's business. It had more to do with the fact that she was good at it and less to do with the fact that she liked exposing people's problems. Whatever the reason, he heard the expectancy at the end of her sentence and knew that she expected him to meet her half way. She was worried and she wanted answers. He didn't expect her to be this satisfied with the events, but he also didn't want to have to explain anything to her either.

His body still felt feverish and his skin felt extremely sensitive and on high alert. The stones underneath him were bothering him more than they should have been and he was more aware of the fact that his body was tingling, his head was hurting, his body was thrumming with heat, and his vision was still sub par. He could clearly see Toph sitting near him, however. She was dressed much as she was last night, right down to the carelessly fashioned bun that was starting to droop over her shoulder in tendrils of long hair. Her milky eyes took on the translucent glow again, and suddenly the feelings he had felt wash over him were surfacing again. She saved him, she was worried about him, she showed him a good time last night, he loved watching her sit there and stay with him while he rode out this horrible drug in his system…

The feelings were coming full force again. Only this time, he wasn't running away.

Maybe this was what that girl meant about the drug taking it's full effect, or maybe Aang was just so tired and stressed out from all of the day's annoyances and problems that he just didn't care anymore. But for some reason, all thoughts of the disgusting escort inside and Katara waiting dutifully for him at home just did not occur to him. All that he was staring at was the Earthbender, wearing his clothes again, looking beautiful again, fussing over him like good old times, looking absolutely kissable…

"I'll tell you…but don't get mad at me, alright?"

Toph nodded and made no effort to rush him. There was a part of his conscience that was telling him this was a bad idea and that he should really think about what the hell he was doing and why it would only serve to make things more troublesome for him in the end. But he wasn't thinking clearly, and he decided to just completely ignore it and tell it to use its energy for something far more enjoyable and far more useful.

Functioning only on instinct, Aang finally allowed his feelings to completely take over and control him.

He rushed straight into her and grabbed her chin with one hand. She gasped at the sensation and immediately tensed at the action. Her skin felt cold against his heated fingers, and in his drug induced haze, he realized just how close he was to her. His nose was touching hers and her lips were parted in surprise. There was no turning back from this, and he had no intentions of stopping now.

Aang traced her thumb over her bottom lip and was unable to resist the urge to slip the digit into the silky smooth skin on the inside of the plump lip. Toph's breathe hitched at the sensation and didn't make an effort to stop him, even though he knew her conscience was probably thinking along the same lines as him. It was no surprise to anyone who Aang was dating at the moment.

His nails ghosted along her jaw and followed the bone from her chin all the way up to the back of her ear. She shivered at the contact and let in a sharp breath. It was a sensation that Aang himself enjoyed immensely and it seemed that Toph shared the sentiment. There was a light stain of color across her cheeks and her breathing was being replaced with panting as he continued to leave her in anticipation.

He felt her hesitate in her shock for a moment. However, her body gradually began to relax again as she realized that Aang wasn't planning on stopping his advances this time. Toph in no way protested either of the actions, and instead leaned her tongue forward so that the tip came into contact with the digit as she welcomed the intrusion. Aang didn't have the time to react to the willing invitation before he removed his thumb and took her bottom lip in between his own.

His approach was rather straight-forward and avoided that cumbersome tilt that many people demonstrated whenever they tried to kiss someone. Despite the raging heat that was building up inside of him, Aang settled for a rather leisurely kiss. He released her lip and opened his mouth and watched behind lidded eyes as Toph eagerly mirrored the actions. Aang carefully leaned in until their lips were only just brushing together and relished in the sweet anticipation he left them in as he hesitated for a moment. Toph followed his every move and went where his lips went. He captured her lips again and resisted the urge to sigh into her mouth.

His hand left her jaw and cupped her cheek in an attempt to maintain the beautiful contact that was making his head swim and the warmth of his body to travel downwards in a wonderful sensation that just felt…nice. A soft sigh escaped Toph's mouth when he pulled away and leaned in again. He tilted his head a little bit more to the side, allowing his mouth to open more and let the inner, more silken portion of their lips to slide over each other.

The cold didn't bother him as much as he thought it would, and Toph was more than comfortable clutching onto his shirt and shuffling her body closer to his. There was a wonderful sensuality behind the continued disconnection and reconnection of their lips, an intoxicating wave of anticipation every time their lips hung on the air and waited for another kiss to follow. Aang's head was swimming and he wasn't sure how much of these sensations he was able to take.

Aang guided his tongue in between her lips and traced along the length of her tongue—he wasn't all probing, but instead explored the space offered to him. Toph—the beautiful little creature that she was—immediately reciprocated and met him halfway in his explorations. Her tongue curled against his and she moaned into his mouth as his body immediately shifted closer.

The Airbender grew hungry after that and completely abandoned the leisurely pace. He gently nibbled on her bottom lip and made her open up for him more. Katara, he knew, hated the quick pace he sometimes undertook when he kissed her. She didn't like the desperation that sometimes overtook him and made him get a little insistent and rough with her. She hated biting and she hated his fast kisses. It was always slow and careful whenever they kissed.

Toph was the complete opposite and met him on every front he presented. He was quickly losing himself as he began feeling deeper into her mouth and opening her up wider for him to taste. She was an intoxicating specimen that was completely receptive to him. She moaned when he bit her lip and sighed when his pace quickened and his kiss grew hungrier and far more desperate. She pulled him closer and closer as the kiss continued on and he wondered whether or not they would be able to separate once they stopped.

His head began to swim and he could feel his lips swelling from the continuous contact. He left one last lingering kiss on her lips before he separated with a wet sound and left the girl panting underneath him.

Aang touched his forehead to hers and whispered softly. "That's why I ran away…"

Toph's wit must have melted away with the kiss, because her response wasn't very coherent. "I…uh…what?"

But Aang couldn't explain any further. He didn't trust his mind to put on a filter in his dazed state. As it was, he was quickly losing his grip on reality and felt spots of darkness collecting at the corners of his eyes. He didn't think he would be able to remain conscious any longer.

Toph sensed his weight shifting more and more onto her. "Aang…"

"Sorry," he muttered one last time. His headache had reached its peak and his body couldn't handle the exhaustion any longer. His weight gave out from underneath him and he collapsed against Toph, completely unconscious.

* * *

******Edited: **8/31/12, 12:31AM EST

**A/N (8/30/12): **Jesus Christ, I rewrote this chapter five freaking times and I still don't like it. OTL

Anyway, a couple of things. First off, remember that whole three-shot thing? Yeah…I realized that it isn't going to happen. Long story short, I got this crazy idea and now require many more chapters to pull it off. So, you'll be getting a lot more chapters. Good for you…questionable for me XD

Also, in case you're wondering why the hell certain characters are even here and being given dialogue in the first place, just know that they will all have their purpose fulfilled in the future. Yes, even that annoying little brat that worked in the bar will serve a greater purpose soon.

I'm really not sure about this chapter, so please tell me if you liked it / where I can improve (because…damn it for some reason it's bugging me!) Oh, well. Let me stop staring at it.

Thank you for the (24!) reviews the first time around. Glad you liked it so much and I hope you all will stick around for the ride.


	3. Diagnosis

_**Diagnosis**_

* * *

Aang didn't know much about opulence, being a person who preferred to live simply. But the monk knew enough to discern that the sheets he was sleeping on were certainly nothing like the ones that he had been used to in his hotel room.

As his brain attempted to push through the fog of sleep and slowly started to bring him back into consciousness, he reached out and felt extremely smooth fabric against his skin. He plucked up a corner of what he discerned was a coverlet and rubbed the sheets in between two fingers. His brows furrowed.

"Is this silk?" he muttered to himself.

He opened his eyes and slowly sat up in the bed. Sure enough, he was swathed in silk emerald sheets and coverlets that slid against his skin like water. Even the mattress underneath him made him think of the cloud bed his friends had made for him back when he was sleep deprived and stressed over fighting the Fire Lord. He couldn't remember ever sleeping on something so comfortable—not even in the Earth Palace or the Fire Palace. He wondered just how much all of these sheets must have cost. Not only that, but he couldn't remember the last time he had slept in a canopy bed made out of dark oak like this. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen dark oak anywhere. In the Earth Kingdom, he usually equated it with serious class.

Aang blinked back the sunlight that was pouring into the room and finally opened his eyes wide enough to get a good look at the room he was in. Just as he thought, this definitely wasn't anything like his hotel room. It was far too expensive and classy to look like anything he had ever stayed at before in his life. In the back of his mind, he started wondering what had happened that he had wound up in a place like this and whom he had to thank for the bed.

The light shone through the large windows taking up the entire right wall. It must have been late morning. The emerald carpets and curtains were spotted with patches of sunlight and the finish on the dark oak furniture gleamed brilliantly. The entire room was so lavish and so surreal Aang had to wonder whether he was just having a really good dream or not. Nothing in this room looked familiar. Just where the hell _was_ he?

A pain erupted in his chest and he immediately started heaving into loud, dry coughs that made the back of his throat burn. His head was hurting a little bit, but nothing compared to his chest and throat. Aang tried swallowing in order to alleviate the soreness, but it just made him wince even more from the pain. He felt like someone had sandpapered down his esophagus and left it nice and raw. All of a sudden, he felt like disappearing back into these mysterious silk sheets—he didn't care whose they were—and sleeping the day away a little bit more. He coughed again and realized that he probably wouldn't be able to eat even if he wanted to. He might as well just go back to sleep.

Just as that seemed like the ideal course of action, a cold hand pressed against his forehead and sent a chill through Aang's body. He winced away from the contact and brushed the offending hand away. He was already getting tired again and he wanted to put his head down for a moment. But once he started to lean back down against the sheets, another hand pushed against his lower back and lifted him back up into a sitting position.

"No, you don't. You've slept this off enough."

Aang groaned childishly and fought against the pushing, but a rough shove ended his protests and gracelessly sprawled him forward. "Oh, quit whining, Twinkle Toes. Honestly, you're how old?"

_Twinkle Toes?_

Then, as if a rush of adrenaline and energy just came barreling through him, Aang perked up and turned his head towards the voice. Sure enough, sitting right by his bedside with an annoyed scowl on her face was the exact girl that he really did not want to see right now.

"Toph?"

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the bedside table. "Well, who else were you expecting?"

Aang blinked and shook his head. Well, he supposed that all made sense. From the vague remnants he was able to gather from last night, he knew for a fact that the damn girl he ran into was knocked out and Sokka was otherwise preoccupied with other endeavors—endeavors he hoped were innocent enough to be spoken about in front of others, but Aang was too exhausted to get his hopes up. Plus, Toph was the only person rich enough—save for the royals themselves—who had the money for extravagance like this, despite the copious amounts of times he would completely forget that detail. She must have paid a fortune for the bed alone.

Still, he sort of wished some generous denizen had decided to show some mercy and drag him to a place where he could rest. What he wasn't planning on was waking up and having to talk face to face with the person he had every intentions of avoiding for his remaining stay in Ba Sing Se. Right now, she was glowering right over the top of his head, clearly annoyed with him for some reason. He supposed accidently taking a strange drug and not being careful would probably sum everything up wonderfully.

But Aang couldn't speak or move. He just kept staring at the Earthbender disbelievingly, cursing his luck that he would have to be thrust into this situation. He didn't ask to have to confront her this soon. He hadn't planned anything yet!

_Well, who told you to go and practically swallow her?_, his conscience replied sardonically. _Can't blame luck for putting you in a situation you started._

That was true, no matter how crude it sounded. Aang sighed and buried his face in his hands. He had a plan to completely ignore that traitorous thought that plagued him that night. It was supposed to stay just that: a thought. Many people had thoughts that strayed to not-so-innocent waters. That wasn't a crime. He was human. But this…this was inexcusable and he didn't know how to not feel ashamed of himself.

He loved Katara. He did, he knew he did. There was no denying that in his heart. She was a precious part of his life and he knew that this wasn't a lie. All of the admiration he held for her over the years wasn't a series of empty feelings. He'd do anything for the Waterbender and hated these trips that made him have to leave her for extended periods of time. But…

…there was something about being around Toph that made his heart split completely in two. He'd never heard of anything like it and it confused him to no end.

_What am I supposed to say to her now? After what I did…_

"Hey."

Toph's voice broke Aang out of his thoughts. She got up from her chair and started rummaging around with the china she must have arranged on the tray on the table she was leaning on. Aang leaned his head to peek at what she was doing. "Huh?"

"What do you mean, 'huh'? You were giving me a thousand yard stare, I could feel it." There were three teapots prepared with tea on the tray, and she started lifting the lids of each one and smelling the contents as she replied. "You sure you're okay?"

Aang pressed a hand to his head and ignored the thumping of his temples. "Um…sure, I guess. Head hurts." Another cough assaulted him and caused his entire frame to shudder from the force.

Toph winced and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Your throat's dry too, I'll bet. Explains the cough."

The monk halted his movements and sent a strange stare over at the girl. "Yeah, actually," Aang replied slowly. He kept watching her mutter to herself as she started lifting more lids on more containers. Were those spices? "How did you know that?"

Toph chose to ignore him and started mixing together a concoction of…well, he didn't really know what. It looked like she was mixing together all these different teas and spices into one cup. He would have made some sort of comment about the girl not knowing the basics of tea making, but she seemed to know exactly what she was doing, right down to knowing what everything was based on smell. Or at least that's what it looked like. The Earthbender had this horribly stubborn habit of making everyone think she knew exactly what she was doing even if she had no idea. But something about the way she was pouring and mixing so quickly made it seem like it was better if he didn't say anything.

As she worked, she at no time attempted to create or initiate a conversation. Of course, seeing as how Aang refused to make eye contact and say anything that wasn't necessary or a reply, they were left in a very tense silence that Aang couldn't discern. It was very odd. He half expected her to grill him on the fact that he kissed her with absolutely no hesitation. A punch or a slap would have been expected. Hell, he would have welcomed it. He felt like giving himself a couple of blows to sober him up and make himself realize that he was an absolute moron.

Then again…he had warned her. She could have easily done something to him if she didn't like what he was doing. He wasn't exactly at his physical best and pushing him off would have been as simple as breathing for her. She didn't do a damn thing. If anything, she encouraged it. He remembered her submitting almost willingly to the attention. Grabbing his shirt, pulling him closer, moaning into his mouth…those weren't things you did to a person who was kissing you unless you were enjoying it.

It made everything ten times more complicated, unfortunately. He sort of wished she _had_ pushed him off. Then, he could just swallow himself into the Earth and go on feeling like the guilty wretch that he was. But the fact remained that the both of them silently and mutually decided last night that stopping wasn't really something they wanted to do.

Toph turned back to him with a warm teacup in her hands. "Alright. Drink up."

Aang warily took the drink and took a large whiff. It didn't make him want to wretch into the corner, but that didn't mean he was going to say it smelled amazing. He couldn't decide what on Earth to think of it.

"Can I know what this is?"

"Well, you have to eat, but your throat probably won't let you do that right now." Aang swallowed again and winced at the burn. Yeah. She was certainly right about that.

"So, that should help," she continued. "Gets rid of the headache too, and whatever else is still swimming around in you."

He couldn't really argue with that. She seemed to know what she was talking about despite how much Aang was wondering how she even knew all of this to begin with. Still, it was better than nothing. He slowly brought the cup to his lips and drank the piping hot tea.

The hot liquid actually did wonders. It smarted as the first sip went down, but as he started taking more generous gulps, Aang immediately started to feel his throat humming at the relief. Aang really couldn't pin down the taste of this "tea." About the only thing he could tell was that it was mostly ginseng—probably—and there was a small hint of honey and ten different spices in it. The taste wasn't particularly heavenly, but it was getting the job done.

"Wow," he muttered after finishing the cup in one last gulp. "This stuff's amazing. What's in it?"

Toph smirked and plucked the cup out of his hands. "I am sworn to secrecy. It's not my recipe and I promised I wouldn't spread it around." She quickly prepared another cup and handed it to him again. He didn't hesitate and started swallowing it with relish and she stared smiling. "You seem like you like it," she laughed.

Aang only nodded and tipped his head back to get every last drop of what was left. His throat felt amazing and the tea warmed up his body and made him feel far more awake than he was a few seconds ago. It was like magic. He held out the cup and asked for more.

Toph rolled her eyes, but grinned at the enthusiasm. "Don't worry you're bald little head, Twinkles. You need to drink about four more cups, anyway."

The monk shrugged, not really complaining either way, but felt like asking if not to draw attention away from what he hoped wouldn't be brought up. "Why so many?"

Toph sighed. "You don't know what you took, did you?" Aang shook his head and didn't offer an answer.

Toph slipped out of the chair and decided to sit cross-legged on the sheets in front of him. She took a band from around her wrist and started putting her hair up in a very quick and sloppy bun as she spoke. "I keep forgetting you're way too innocent for your own good."

Aang sputtered into his tea and opened up his mouth to retort. "Hey, I'm not…!"

Toph's low chuckle cut him off and momentarily distracted him from what he was supposed to be defending himself from. "Sure. Fine. Whatever appeases you."

The monk scowled, but Toph ignored him in favor of answering his question. "It inhibits your good sense and basic coordination so that your attacker can take full advantage of you. In your case, she was a very desperate whore who thought you were too irresistible to pass up," she chuckled. For some reason, despite how almost panicked she seemed when she had discovered Aang, she seemed to find the entire situation humorous now for whatever reason, much to Aang's chagrin.

"I'm glad you think it's funny," Aang frowned, tapping her knee with the empty cup in an attempt to ask for another refill.

"Well, I wouldn't call it funny," Toph mused, handing him yet another full cup and allowing him to swallow it with relish. "Just sounds like the sort of misadventure someone like you would have…"Aang scowled and decided to not humor her with yet another response.

"Anyway," Toph continued. "It messes with your head pretty good too. It's usually used in escort halls like that, so you can imagine the _other_ effect it tends to have." She raised an eyebrow at him and smiled coyly, and all of a sudden Aang felt like blushing at the hidden meaning. Toph must have felt his embarrassment or something—really, how did she do that?—and laughed at his discomfort.

_Other effects, huh?_ He thought to himself. That might have made sense actually. Maybe that was why he had acted the way he had last night. Maybe the drug had gotten to his more primal side and just made him snap and act on the one desire he had been trying to mask from everyone. He wasn't exactly in his right mind and he had felt completely out of it last night in every sense of the word. Perhaps this was why Toph didn't seem to be acting strangely in front of him. If anything, she was acting as if nothing had happened.

"That's sick," Aang muttered. "That stuff should be illegal."

"Don't I know it," Toph snarled. "I mean, you…" she paused for a second and looked his way. Her eyes seemed like they were filled with confusion and worry. It wasn't exactly a stare that he was used to seeing on her, so it made him physically falter for a second. She sighed and turned her head away again. "You scared the crap out of me. You were acting very…off."

"Off?"

She nodded. "Yeah. You're a very controlled person and you don't let yourself do anything stupid—usually, anyway. I could tell something was wrong with you, so I just took you home and let you sleep it off."

So she was chalking it all up to that, was she? He felt like seriously agreeing with her. She summed it up wonderfully. He didn't feel like himself either. If anything, he wasn't sure he remembered acting so uninhibitedly ever in his life. It was always a series of thinking things through before he did them, or at the very least keeping his head together if he decided to do something out of a whim. But he wasn't sure what made him decide that revealing his feelings was a good idea. It was just a stupid little desire, a dumb little observation that he had made one night, and he turned into an entire fiasco that it didn't need to be.

He wanted to believe that it was an action spurred on by his delirium. But he wasn't sure it was that simple.

Toph shrugged and fell onto her back against the sheets. "Forget about that. Feel like eating yet?"

Aang tested his throat one more time. His throat felt better than ever, so he figured that a nice meal in his stomach would take away some of the headache that was still lingering.

The Earthbender nodded and leaned her head back. "Xing!" she shouted with her hands cupped around her mouth. "Is breakfast ready yet?"

Almost immediately, a short young teenager rushed into the bedroom with a tray filled with food for both Aang and Toph. He bowed courteously and set the tray down onto the table by the bed where Toph was just sitting. He was a frazzled young thing and looked downright nervous when he rushed into the room. Even though eye contact with Toph didn't seem like a necessary task, the poor boy seemed almost afraid to bring his head up in the first place and instead bowed his head low.

"Here you are. Everything you asked for. Will that be all, Miss Bei Fong?"

Toph scowled. "Xing, calm down. I'm not going to bite you. You don't have to bow. I said just call me Toph."

The very idea of referring to the Earthbender in such a casual way seemed to have scared the mousy boy further into submission as he bent his waist lower. He started insisting that there was no way he could ever disrespect his mistress that way and a whole barrage of other apologies that Aang began to quickly lose track of. Aang wasn't the only one. Toph looked so annoyed she might have been about ready to pop a blood vessel.

She held her hand up and quickly stopped the boy's blathering. "Look. It's fine. If you want, take the rest of the day off and go home. I'll be fine on my own for the rest of the day. Just go, okay?"

As the boy thanked her again and tried to kiss her hands—something that Toph quickly put a stop to before he even so much as decided to entertain the idea a second time—Aang couldn't help but asking. "Wait, aren't you renting a hotel room?"

Toph nodded and answered with an impish smile. "Of course we are. But when you've got as much money as me, it's not _just_ a rental."

"Well then, what is it?" Aang asked, reaching over to the tray of food left for him. A bowl of jook sounded nice, and it looked wonderfully prepared.

"A purchased penthouse suite," Toph answered simply. "Would have liked to do without the servant and subsequent kowtowing, but Dad insisted and I don't exactly know how to cook that well, so what can I do?"

Aang raised a brow. "You bought a suite in a Ba Sing Se hotel?"

Toph nodded and reached over for a bowl of fruit. "Two years ago, I think. Dad hates sleeping where others have slept, so he bought the place, furnished it himself, and stays here when he's on business. I'll be in the city for a bit too, so I figured why not stay here, too? Free meals, privacy, no wake up calls…it's perfect."

Aang nodded, but didn't respond. So the two lapsed into a comfortable silence while they finished their breakfasts and let the morning keep slipping away. Aang looked up at Toph and realized that she must not have gotten much sleep. There were small shadows under her eyes and her hair looked very uncombed and messy. The bun at least hid some of the worst parts of it, but Aang knew her well enough to see past that.

_She wasn't kidding…she was really broken up over this_, he thought to himself. He wondered why. It wasn't like he was dying in bed, and he turned up fine in the end. Again, it was one more mystery after another concerning this girl. In the seven years she had been away, it sounded as if the majority of her time had been spent in a city that she didn't particularly like at all. Not only that, but worrying was more Katara's field of experience. Aang had never seen Toph so broken up over anyone before, least of all him. Has this happened before to someone she knew? To her? The idea filled him with discomfort and he suddenly wanted to reach across the bed and hug her. He didn't know why, but it seemed like the appropriate thing to do.

She was so different now. In a good way, but at the same time, she was so damn secretive it made him want to scream. It was why he didn't avoid her and lose all contact with her yet despite how much he convinced himself he needed to. They were still best friends, and as dangerous as he knew this would turn up to be, he didn't want to stop learning about her and getting to know her again. She sounded like she was hiding a lot. She didn't want to talk now, but he couldn't just stay away from her. He realized just then how impossible it would be. He didn't know why he even bothered trying.

"Thanks," he finally muttered after drinking yet another cup of tonic. "I really…I was in a real mess, huh?"

Toph peeked up from her bangs and smiled at him. "You're always in a real mess. Occupational hazard, wouldn't you agree?"

Aang laughed heartily and cleaned up the rest of his bowl. "So can I get out of bed or what? I need to move around."

"No," Toph demanded. "You're staying in bed for the rest of the morning. Don't make me have to kick your ass so you'll _have_ to stay."

"Geez, alright," Aang laughed, settling back into his sheets so as to prove his point. "Let me tell you, your bedside manner could use some improvement."

"Oh shut up." Toph stuck her tongue out and threw a berry at him. "I could have dumped you on the couch, and instead I gave you my bed. Don't complain."

Aang wanted to bite back and say, "Well then, where did you sleep?" but decided that riling her up this early in the morning probably wasn't the best idea. Instead he popped the berry she threw at him into his mouth and asked, "So was this on the agenda for this week?"

Toph grumbled into her next mouthful of fruit and looked off to the side, which made Aang chuckle. She sighed and responded.

"No. For one thing, I wasn't planning to run into you," she admitted with a small smile that Aang realized he greatly enjoyed. "But then again I wasn't planning on sitting by you while you got over practically being poisoned. I meant to ask if you wanted to hang out while you were in the city, but this wasn't really what I meant. Quite the welcoming committee, huh?"

Aang shrugged nonchalantly and eased her worries. "I've had worse welcomes, as you well know by now," he smiled knowingly. "One bad day won't put me off forever."

The Earthbender clicked her tongue against her teeth in thought and stared intently in Aang's direction. She crossed her arms and regarded him seriously. "Tell you what? I'll make you a deal. You stay in bed and actually rest until mid afternoon, and we'll hang out for real. No dance halls, no shoddy bars, just us. Okay?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, why not? I've been meaning to talk to you anyway." Toph shrugged. "Why, did you have anything planned?"

Aang shook his head. Not really. Sokka probably didn't want to be around Aang today anyway. So he shrugged and relented. "Alright fine. Where are we going?"

Toph hummed in thought. "Huh. Good question. I'll keep you in suspense until I figure it out," she winked at him.

The monk rolled his eyes good-naturedly at her and didn't bother to weasel an answer out of her. Secrecy seemed to be a thing for Toph now and he figured who was he to interrupt. He snuggled further into the sheets, intent on getting a little more sleep, as per her request. Toph lightly smacked him on the forehead twice and started to leave the room.

"The tea is there for your immense enjoyment and there's still plenty of food if you get hungry later. I'll be in the living room. Holler if you need me."

* * *

After Toph deemed Aang suitably recovered, she dragged him down to the shopping district in the middle ring of the city. Aang was never really a fan of the cold despite how long he had lived in the North Pole, but the excitement around the city seemed to have pacified him for the time being.

There were so many shops, restaurants, and vendors in the middle ring, moreso than he had originally thought. The streets were so congested, Toph had to grab his hand and lead him through the crowds since she was the only one who could truly see where she was going. Not that he minded much. Aang was too busy craning his neck and trying to take everything in all at once.

"Why have I never been down here?" he asked himself aloud.

Toph shook her head. "I can think of at least three good reasons, Mr. Workaholic. You really need to let loose once in a while. I mean, have you stepped foot outside once since you've been here?"

"Oh stop it, of course I have," he argued. He didn't mention that those occasions were solely for the sake of chaperoning, but she didn't need to know that. "Anyway, where are we going?"

"Would you chill?" she scolded over the noisy street. "We'll get there when we get there, okay?"

Aang rolled his eyes and let her drag him along. "One whiff of danger and I'm turning around."

"Give me some credit," she scowled. She sidestepped one last group of people before stopping in front of a food vendor. "It's not like I look for trouble. Besides, how do I know it's not you? Last I checked you're practically a magnet."

"Sure, blame it on me," Aang muttered to himself. She was never going to let him live that little fiasco down, was she? "So how long is this little journey?"

Toph shook her head and shoved someone roughly aside. Wincing at the curses that were being thrown their way, Aang heard her respond. "I'll bet you opened your birthday presents early because you were so goddamn impatient as a little kid, huh?" The monk rolled his eyes, but didn't respond to the statement, refusing to admit to himself whether or not it was true. Besides, impatience wasn't the issue. He didn't really feel like being unpleasantly surprised anymore this week.

The Earthbender had pushed them out of the busy avenues and into a confusing catacomb of back alleys that would have caused any normal person to get lost immediately. Still hurrying with his hand in hers, Toph managed to get them on the other side of the Middle Ring in about ten minutes, where the restaurants were smaller and more discreet as opposed to the almost ostentatious atmosphere the stores behind them exuded.

Nestled on the corner of a short street was a small building with nothing on the outside other than a tiny, black sign indicating that the establishment was open. Passing by, Aang thought that it was nothing more than a very average and quaint looking home. But Toph knew exactly where she was going judging by the conviction with which she led him straight towards the strange building's front door.

"Um…Toph?"

"What?"

Aang stared skeptically at the building, wondering what in the world could possibly be inside. "Where are we…?"

"Trust me," Toph assured him and knocked on the front door. "You'll appreciate it."

A moment later, a small space on the corner of the door was opened with the snap of a latch and an empty satchel immediately fell down to the ground by their feet. Aang watched puzzled as Toph removed her gloves and started digging through her pockets. Her tongue poked out of her lips as she started counting the coins into the palm of her hand. She finished with two silver pieces and ten copper pieces, placed them in the satchel, and slipped it back into the hole just as the latch closed behind it.

Aang watched the entire transaction with curiosity and suddenly had a ludicrous notion of something illegal happening behind those doors with the way the secrecy was being handled. However, Toph seemed to have this eager look on her face that made him think otherwise. It didn't disguise the fact that he was eternally confused as to what was happening. He had never seen anything like this before.

After a few minutes, no doubt being taken up by the mysterious person on the other side counting their payment, the door swung open and led into a very dimly lit vestibule. Aang peeked his head in to see if he saw anyone inside, but Toph pushed him inside and let the door close behind them.

It was an entirely candle lit building. Literally dozens of lanterns and candles were lit around the room casting a lovely orange glow across the room. A small table off to the side of the front room held a metal box—no doubt where money was kept—and a little pile of what looked like menus. A man emerged from out of the shadows that the candles didn't touch and smiled pleasantly at the two of them.

"Welcome, my friends. Just two?"

Toph nodded and accepted the menu that was handed to her. Aang tentatively grabbed the menu himself and followed the man and Toph further into the building.

As they walked through, Aang recognized that they were inside of a large, circular room dotted with plush seats and tables where a few couples were already sitting and enjoying simple meals. He couldn't see from where, but a low hum of music was floating through the room to make for a very intimate setting. He needed to take a small moment to simply take in the atmosphere before he hurried ahead to follow Toph.

They were led to the furthest table in the back of the room, which Aang preferred since it seemed that no one was near them to disturb them. They sat down as the man promised them that he would return in a moment to take their orders and bring them food. Aang was impressed when he noted the two piping hot cups of tea that were already prepared for them in order to hold them until the food arrived.

Something about a place like this suited Toph perfectly for some reason or another. A quiet, dark place like this was perfect for those moments of serene peace that you often needed at the end of a long week. The ambiance was worth the rather hefty price that they had paid just for the two of them to get in. He could seriously imagine coming back here for another visit, and he had no doubt that Toph would be laughing at his childish awe had she had the eyes to see it.

Aang whistled under his breath. "This is…"

"I know," Toph answered. "I found this place by luck a while ago. It's really quiet and I always come here to eat when I can. City folk in popular restaurants tend to be a little obnoxious, but that's just my opinion."

The monk had to agree. His discomfort quickly dissipated and was replaced with a calm as he began to revel in the beautiful ambiance that the lounge created. If he didn't know any better, the lighting and the music and the intimate style of dining seemed rather…romantic. He was about to tease Toph about this being a date, but quickly realized that it wouldn't have been appropriate. Toph could cherish the quiet and the comfort, but had no idea just how ethereal she looked in the dim lighting and how the shadows accented her face to create for a haunting yet mesmerizing view.

Toph pulled down her hood and let her hair fall loose, shaking off the last few shudders from the cold that they had left behind. Aang decided to do the same and removed his cap. He noted with amusement that there were convenient little hooks set into the wall for hanging up jackets and hats as opposed to there being a public coat check.

As Toph started pulling off her gloves she asked casually, "How long are you going to stay in Ba Sing Se for? If you're staying for long, I can show you a few more places like this. Really convenient when you want to get away from those noisy old men you talk to all day."

This was definitely an opportunity he was going to have to remember to take advantage of in the future whenever he came into the city again. He would definitely take Toph up on the offer later. "Until the end of the month," Aang replied, answering her first question. "I think that's about three more weeks. Hopefully, if everything goes well, I can head out earlier."

Toph hummed into her drink as she took a sip. "The city bugs you that much?"

"Yes and no," the monk answered carefully. "I don't mind the city itself. I actually find it rather exciting if a little noisy and crowded. But it's very overwhelming. Actually I'm starting to remember what you told me. 'Soaking up too much at once' I believe is what you said."

The girl nodded and smirked. "Yeah, that sounds just about accurate. I wouldn't worry though. The jaded adults of Ba Sing Se have been infected for years. It's going to take a lot more than a month of exposure to totally ruin you."

Aang raised a brow at the illness metaphor that Toph had used for a second time. It wasn't quite the noun he would have used, but she seemed so attracted to the relationship that she felt the need to mention it twice. He couldn't help but feel that it was a rather cynical viewpoint, but he wasn't exactly sure. It might have just been Toph and her dry sense of humor at the very least, but something about her attitude unsettled him.

"What do you mean ruin?" Aang asked curiously. "Everyone here seems to be pretty lively."

Toph tilted her head, debating his response. "It may seem that way, but that's not quite it," she explained. "You see, there's a certain attitude that you develop when you're around so many people that it becomes a personality that you automatically emulate whether you like it or not. It's a sort of a defense mechanism. No one will ever question what's really brewing underneath all that normality."

"And what _is_ brewing underneath?" Aang questioned.

"Tired, burned out, and bored human beings," Toph replied. "A tad pathetic if you ask me, but I guess loneliness is more potent in company."

Aang frowned. "So better to be alone?"

The girl shrugged and crossed her arms defensively, something that Aang immediately noted. "You don't notice what's wrong with yourself and your life until you start comparing. Makes sense, right?"

Aang chewed on the inside of his cheek and remembered something else from a past conversation. "But you admitted to being 'sick,'" he air-quoted.

"Wrong," Toph corrected him. "I told you I've recently been cured. That means I don't fall into that stupid little category." Toph pointed her finger straight at Aang. "You on the other hand are in danger of exactly the opposite. Kinda what I wanted to talk to you about."

Aang sat back into his seat. Well, he certainly wasn't expecting that. He had thought that this was just going to be a very calm meal in between friends, but apparently that wasn't going to happen. He didn't know what kind of mood Toph woke up in today. She still looked rather tired despite how eager she was to finally come to this lounge. Maybe this was just the result of her stress over the last few hours? Then again that didn't make much sense. Toph wasn't the type to get so broken up over something like this.

He grabbed his tea and took a sip so as to buy time to gather up a suitable response. "This is coming out of nowhere, you realize?" he responded after he swallowed.

"Well, to be fair we haven't really gotten the chance to sit down and have a complete conversation," she pointed out quickly. "The first night I see you after seven years isn't exactly a suitable set up for a conversation like this. And you were out of your goddamn mind last night. So here we are."

Straight to the point. He supposed he preferred that to Toph's usual method of skirting around the issue he had been experiencing lately. Her bluntness was familiar and he knew how to better deal with this. "Here we are. What are you talking about?"

Toph sighed and leaned her chin into her hand as the owner came over to their table and asked them what they wanted. "Just two orders of the special are fine."

As the man walked away again and left them in silence, Toph put her head down on her folded arms and looked straight ahead with a lost look. It might have been the dim lighting combined with the fact that at times her blind eyes didn't really do a great job at revealing her emotions, but Aang started to see traces of what she had just been talking about. Tired, burned out, and bored. It was a scary thing to see in someone who was so full of life when she was a child. Something was telling him that the girl wasn't as "cured" as she said she was.

Then again she claimed that she saw right through him. What she was seeing was beyond him, but she always had this habit of being able to pinpoint the worst parts of him, something no one—not even Katara—could ever properly do. Suddenly, he was feeling very nervous.

Toph stared drumming her nails on the table. "I never thought I'd see you again," she muttered quietly. "I honestly thought I was just going to…stay here…move around a bit…and just live on with the punches that came. I'll be honest, I never really thought about looking for anyone." She smiled bitterly. "But then you come along acting all young and…just how you used to and I thought that maybe I was being stupid and it would all be okay, but it's not. You're still totally different no matter how much I try to convince myself that you're not and it just really sucks."

_Different?_ "Wh…w-what do you mean different? Toph, you're not making any sense."

"You know, different? Not the same? Diversion from the norm? Pick your favorite definition, Aang, because I can list them off no problem." All of a sudden, she sounded extremely annoyed.

It took Aang a full ten seconds to respond. "Why do you sound like you're mad at me all of a sudden?" he asked tiredly. "Honestly, what are you getting at?"

"It's not that I'm mad at you," Toph groaned. "It's just you act like you're so sick and tired of everything."

Aang immediately went on the defensive and started denying. "Explain to me when, in the times we've hung out, I seemed out of it. I'm fine."

Toph huffed and fell back into her seat, dropping her chin to her chest. Clearly, he was missing something that she was getting at because he was picking up on the signs of a very irritated Toph. She muttered something to herself as she turned her head away and had her hair blanketing her face so that he couldn't tell what she was saying. Especially in such a dark room, it was almost as if he were alone and there was nothing but an empty presence sitting across from him. It unsettled him to know that she was being so quiet. The old Toph would have started shouting already.

"You clearly weren't listening to what I just said," she muttered. "Add the fact that you must not see how you act when you're alone, and I've got a valid point."

"Can you please start explaining what you mean?" Aang asked. He was really losing sight of what was being discussed. If this was supposed to be a criticism of him, he still wasn't quite sure what it was, and he was eager to find out so that they could quickly end the strain that had grown seemingly out of nowhere.

Toph shrugged and started picking at her coat. She looked like she was debating in her head what to say, or at the very least thinking through her next words, another thing that the girl never did. After a few seconds of deliberation, she seemed to have completely given in to the idea and immediately blurted out the last thing Aang would have expected her to say.

"Katara's been writing to me about you."

Aang's eyebrows knitted together and leaned forward over the table as if he didn't hear her correctly the first time. "What?"

"Katara," she enunciated slowly. "Sugar Queen? Your girlfriend of like seven years? The one you _live_ with? You know…_that_ Katara. Not a very common name, Twinkles."

The Airbender blinked. That didn't make any sense. After the war had ended and the fame had settled down into a small murmur through the city, Toph completely fell off the face of the Earth. He hadn't heard from her or seen her in years, and Sokka and Suki had confirmed this by saying that they hadn't seen any signs of the Earthbender in years. Probably the only person he could think of that had any connection at all with Toph was Zuko, and that was tentative at best. He never saw the girl directly, but swore to Aang that the person writing the Bei Fong letters of inquiry was the Bei Fong daughter, not the Bei Fong lord. However, any questions regarding the girl that he asked in his letters were promptly ignored. That was about the only contact anyone had with her and that was how it had remained for years.

Now not only was Aang talking to this girl after so long, now she was claiming that his girlfriend was corresponding with her? It just didn't make any sense. Katara had told him that she had no idea where Toph had wound up or what she was doing now that the teenagers no longer had the excuse of the war to keep them busy. She was always asking for the younger bender, wondering out loud to Aang how nice it would be if they could find her and bring her over for a visit one day. Surely Katara wouldn't lie about not knowing Toph's location, would she?

That meant that Toph was lying. Was that something that Toph would do? Probably, but then again she would have no reason to lie, would she? They've only really seen each other for two days, and even though the circumstances in which they have been meeting over the past several hours have been far less than ideal, he didn't think that it justified her making up stories like this only to jerk his pride around and make a point. So then that meant that Katara was lying. As long as he kept second guessing himself, his logic continued to go in circles.

"But," he struggled to respond, still trying to calculate how this was even possible. "Katara never told me…"

"Well of course she wouldn't tell you," Toph replied sardonically. "The letters were about you, like I said."

Aang was quickly getting frustrated at the secrecy that surrounded this girl and it was quickly showing in his posture and in the tone of his voice. "What did they say?" Aang scolded. "You're not telling me anything and I'm not seeing the point of this charade if you're going to keep avoiding the damn issue."

A pregnant silence followed, and the Airbender was almost grateful for the sound of their plates being placed on the table in front of them in order to partially fill the silence that the two of them had created. All of a sudden, he had realized how well prepared Toph was for this and he wondered how long exactly she had been planning it. The quiet lounge they were sitting in that prevented him from raising his voice and getting to upset, and the light meal since she must have predicted that he would be feeling too uncomfortable to want to eat much. She thought all of this through…

He ignored his food for the moment. "You need to explain to me how much you knew and what's going on," he explained a little bit more calmly. He felt as if there was more going than just Katara and Toph speaking. What the Earthbender had been telling him before had him wondering.

"Well," she began, "the short version is that she wants me to snap some sense into you. She figured that since I managed to get you out of your sniveling, scared attitude when you were little, I could snap you out of the funk you're in now."

"What funk?" Aang asked tiredly.

She held up her hand. "Let me finish. I didn't know what she was talking about, but since she knew I've been in the city, she told me when you were coming and asked me to keep an eye out for you. It's weird when you think about it," she laughed to herself. "There have probably been dozens of times over the years where we've walked right by each other. Apparently you come to Ba Sing Se often…" She waved away the comment and shook her head. "Well, that's not really the point, anyway."

Toph went on. "So I did some snooping and found you that first night," she answered. Aang noted that she conveniently left out what that snooping entailed, but he knew that getting information out of Toph was only going to happen if she was willingly giving it. The fact that it was skipped over meant that he wasn't meant to know what it was. _Yet_, he hoped.

"So you meeting me that night was for the sake of spying for Katara's sake," Aang summarized, "because she's worried about me."

"Well, no," Toph said. "I mean…it's complicated. It wasn't just spying on you. It's been a while, and I've been…I wanted to see you. I had fun with you. That's why I didn't understand what Katara was saying."

"Which was?" Aang asked impatiently.

"That you're distant," Toph explained finally. "You're not the same. I mean, haven't you noticed that when you've been with her? She talks about it all the time in her letters."

Toph stared eating her rice and left Aang to stew over what she had asked of him. Had he noticed anything strange? Aang had never really thought to look at how they functioned as a couple. In all of the stress of his responsibilities now, he had simply taken comfort in the fact that Katara had always been there to offer some sort of constancy and simplicity that he had been missing during his work. Their life at the North Pole had been simple. He liked it most of the time.

"I mean…" he responded slowly. "There's something very…_linear_ about it. I mean, there's nothing much to do in the North Pole. It's very quiet now that the world has calmed down, and Katara's not involved in much other than the meetings she attends in the central city there. No traveling, no getting involved in anything messy, it's just very…"

Toph nodded in understanding as she cut him off with a hand. She reached over and tapped the edge of his plate with her nail. "Eat."

Aang acquiesced and started picking at some of the vegetables on his plate. Maybe the little bit of food that he could eat would calm his stomach down and prevent him from getting into too bad of a mood. It tasted heavenly and he figured he should at least take advantage of it while he listened to this news.

"Okay, so where do you want to be?" she continued to ask him.

Aang thought about the question and realized that the answer came to him quickly. "Nowhere and anywhere," he answered honestly. "I didn't have a plan. It's not in my nature to have a plan. I'm a nomad, that's how I was taught and that's who I was meant to be. I never wanted to stay in one place, I've always wanted to live in the moment and see where the winds take me. But…the North Pole was what Katara wanted."

The girl frowned. "But that's sacrificing your own desires for hers. Not necessarily a bad thing normally, but you sound like you really don't like where you are. Does she even know this?"

"I wouldn't tell her that!" Aang immediately responded. "I'm not going to bring her out of her element. She's already sacrificed so much for me…so much that she didn't have to. Let me at least give her something she can latch on to."

"At the expense of you?" Toph asked him. Aang looked up from his food for a moment and saw the almost fiery quality to her sea foam eyes. "I understand that you want to make her happy, but you're making it sound like you need to punish yourself because you punished her, both of which are shit ideas that just aren't true."

"It isn't a shit idea. I want to do something for her. She lost for me, let me lose for her."

Toph growled in her throat, no doubt getting frustrated. "Since when did this become a Let's-Get-Even issue?"

"It isn't about getting even," Aang tried to explain. "I owe her."

"You don't owe her your misery," Toph said firmly. "No love is worth making yourself suffer so that she can be happy."

"I'm not suffering!" Aang argued adamantly. It wasn't that strong of a negative feeling at the North Pole. Sure it wasn't his ideal choice of a life, but no one got everything they wanted. It was a matter of looking at the positives. "It's not great," Aang admitted. "But I'm willing to stay there if it makes her happy."

"Well, when will she start doing this for you?" Toph asked.

"What?"

She downed the rest of her tea and managed to catch his eyes as she stared at him with reproach. "Forget the war. Bringing the war into this is stupid because we've all saved and helped each other far too many times for there to be issues of debt to deal with. I don't care what you say."

She held her hands out in a very self-pleased manner. "That means we've evened out the playing field in that respect. Now what are we left with? You killing yourself to make her happy and you being left with nothing in return. Seems unfair, right?"

Obviously it sounded unfair the way she put it, but that just wasn't how Aang saw it. "There wouldn't have been a war issue had she not found me."

"Yeah you're right, there wouldn't be," Toph agreed. "Because we'd be in a dictatorship right now with you stuck in a block of ice with no one left to find you. She would have been worse off. Trust me, we all would have. There's no debt and there's no guilt for you to feel. It's over. You need to do what makes you happy now."

Aang didn't answer and used the excuse of having a full mouth so that he wouldn't have to respond. He chewed slowly and waited for Toph to change the subject.

The girl sighed and seemed to have realized that Aang didn't seem to agree with her on this point. Besides, he didn't think that something like this deserved such analysis. It honestly wasn't as bad as she made it sound. He could handle it.

Toph decided to follow Aang's lead and take a bite of her own food. Aang was thankful that she had picked up on his body language and switched to something else. "Well, what about you and Katara. You know, the two of you and your…whatever you have. How's that going?"

The monk wasn't sure how this turned from him to his relationships with Katara, but he figured that this was at least worth talking about. For Katara to have been writing to Toph—for how long he didn't know—it must have had something to do with the way they lived or their relationship. Katara always said that she liked living in the North Pole, so something must have been strained between them.

Aang wasn't going to lie. He loved Katara, but didn't disagree with the fact that things weren't exactly as ideal as he had hoped they would be. Then again, these were based off of the idealized little dreams that he had of perfect love and marriage when he was twelve. He hadn't based it on any life experience that he had. He was a very bookish person when he was that young and based all of his expectations on those stories. Naturally, things wouldn't uphold like that in real life. So while things weren't perfect, it was probably due to the fact that the standards were based off of unrealistic things, not because something was wrong. He always assumed everything was alright.

"…fine," Aang responded. "We're fine." There wasn't anything else he could think of that could warrant a problem. He was almost curious to hear if Toph know what Katara said concerning all of this.

Toph sighed deeply and started eating again. "Liar."

He startled and looked up from his meal. _Liar? _

"What?"

Toph shrugged. "You're a liar. You just lied. Whatever your relationship is, it obviously isn't 'fine.' Try again."

Aang was about ready to argue with her. There was no way he had lied when he was adamant about his decision. But the fact was that she looked downright unwilling to hear the same response twice.

He wasn't sure if it was possible to fool yourself so strongly that you would be able to lie to yourself so convincingly. But Toph wouldn't lie about him lying. He knew she was sincere in this fact, and he didn't need to have sensitive feet to be able to discern that. So what did it mean when you lied without realizing it?

Thoughts were rushing through his head and he sighed deeply and placed his chopsticks down. He had tentatively looked up at Toph and saw that she was looking in his direction, eating her food and waiting for him to say something that would answer her question. She knew whatever Katara was thinking. That much he was sure of and he wasn't going to keep thinking that one of them wasn't telling the truth.

Was he kidding himself? Maybe, but then that meant that there was something he was skirting over, or something that he wasn't telling himself. Now that he had been caught in the lie—a lie he hadn't realized he made—he was being forced to think.

Aang lifted his hands and gesticulated as he spoke. "There's…nothing going on. Like I said. Linear. We wake up, we say good morning, she goes to her meetings and I go to mine, and then we come home, eat, go to bed, and do the same thing all over again. Katara's always too tired to do things whenever I want to, and whenever she's in the mood to go out I always have something to go attend or a letter to write. It doesn't help that she doesn't want to leave the North Pole when it's just so…_predictable_."

That was the most he could bear to say. Out of all of his expectations, that had been the one that had been the most disappointing: the normality of it all. Surely there should have been a little more to life than just that routine. But he had been afraid that was thinking to idealistically. It wasn't as if he was an expert about these things. Katara was his litmus test. He had nothing to go on. He assumed this was how relationships were. Now Toph got him thinking that maybe he _had_ been right about his gut feelings.

"So you're bored," Toph said shortly. "North Pole isn't your style. You're a free-spirited guy that loves and needs to travel. I mean, you grew up absconded in a temple for twelve years of your life and were trapped in an iceberg for another one hundred. Then you finally have a year to travel and see the world, only to be thrust back into what you escaped initially. Add in the fact that now you both are turning into adults and have a routine that none of you can get out of…I mean maybe that works for Katara since she sounds like she loves the North Pole, but for you?"

Aang looked down and thought through it. Yes…yes he supposed that made sense. It was Katara's idea to move to the North Pole anyway. Him being the love struck fifteen year old that he was at the time didn't feel the need to say no to such an arrangement. If she had been happy about it, that was all that was important. He figured that any negativities that involved living in such a cold climate and not being able to travel the way he wanted to would be evened out by the prospect of living with the girl he loved.

"I can tell," Toph continued. "That's what I was saying before. When I saw you sitting at the bar that day, you were all hunched over and just…lost. I don't think I've ever seen you like that in my life. Even sitting together in that alley with me when you were all drugged up. The way you carry yourself, the way you speak even. You're different, and I don't like it."

There was nothing he could say to that. He didn't even know how to dignify it with a response that would cushion what Toph had left hanging in the air between them, so the only thing he could do was keep eating while Toph decided where she was going to turn the conversation next. All of a sudden, Aang was not in the mood to take in anything anymore. He admitted things he didn't even know he knew, and it bothered him immensely. He wondered whether or not it would begin to explain the things that had been bothering him these past few days.

"When was the last time the two of you did anything?" Toph asked desperately. "Kissed?"

Aang looked up and answered. "Um…the day I left."

"No, not a kiss on the cheek, Aang," Toph frowned. "I mean, an actual kiss. You know like the—" Toph paused for a moment, looking almost panicked, and fixed her sentence. "A real kiss."

Color started to come to his face since he knew exactly how she was going to finish that sentence and was not surprised to see that she was reacting similarly to the way he had. There was simply no comparison for what they had shared yesterday. But in terms of moments he had shared with Katara, they didn't happen often. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, a couple of weeks?"

"Sex?"

Aang choked on his rice. "What?"

"Oh, come on we're not kids anymore," Toph berated. "How is it? Often? Good? Bad?"

"I mean," Aang blushed. "It's been a while…" he responded nervously. This _really_ wasn't the conversation he wanted to be having.

"Define 'a while.'"

Aang couldn't really give a good estimate. "I don't know…three months maybe."

"Three _months?_" Toph gasped.

"She's always tired or not in the mood!" he responded quickly. "It's not like I don't try to initiate anything, I do. But when she's in the mood, I'm tired and busy and it just doesn't work. Some days I'm not tired at all and I'm just…not in the mood. I don't want to do it."

Toph huffed and was visibly trying to come up with something to say. She traded in responding to Aang to speaking out loud to herself. "…you're so jaded it's ridiculous. No wonder she's so worried about you. Then again, from the sound of it, you're not the only one. Damn, to think you were practically in love with each other a few years ago. What the hell happened?"

All of this introspection and close-ups on his romantic relationship was suddenly making Aang extremely hyper-aware of himself. He didn't think that there was anything to worry about, but now that he realized it and had someone snap his head into the game and make him really look at what he had been doing with is life, he realized that it was very different form what he thought he would be doing.

He thought that being the Avatar would give him the freedom hat he didn't think he would have with the profession. Sure there would be a lot of responsibilities. But at the very least he wouldn't have to give up who he was. He had spent the entirety of the war worried about such a prospect and was happy that he never had to submit to such a fate.

Now here he was falling into a funk that he hadn't realized he would ever have to deal with. What had gone wrong? What mistakes had he made? Was there anything he could do to fix it?

Suddenly, things started making sense. Was this why his thoughts were wandering and why he had acted out on his desires? Maybe this was the root of the evil. This was why he was acting out of sorts. All of this stress and all of these sources of downfall were all snowballing and leading Aang into thoughts and ideas that he didn't think he could ever have. It was like a sudden revelation that was coming to him in waves, and slowly but surely, he was starting to see where the girl was coming from.

What was it that Toph had said? The city's disease? She always spoke about in such a cryptic manner in a way that he had trouble understanding. Suddenly, everything she had told him about it made sense and—even scarier—perfectly applied to him. Toph had said that she had managed a way out of this funk and didn't appear any different than she did when she was twelve. Maybe she wasn't completely fixed—she still seemed hardened by her life here—but she hadn't completely lost it. He had changed, was still changed. Is this what Katara hoped would happen? That Toph would be the one to help him because she had gone through the same thing?

"Well," Aang asked. "What do I do? You seem to have kicked yourself out of your own issues, so what am I supposed to do?"

"I'm still working on that," Toph answered carefully, still fruitlessly trying to finish the meal that had been placed on the bottom of the priority list during their outing. "You're quite the conundrum, if nothing else."

"It'll be fine though, right?" Aang asked.

Toph rolled her eyes and flicked Aang on the forehead. "You idiot, of course it's going to be fine. It's not like you're dying. You just need to…reevaluate."

"Reevaluate?" he questioned.

Toph nodded. "Yeah. Loosen you up a little bit. I did it the first night, I can do it again."

"No dance halls, and no bars," Aang deadpanned. He didn't need anymore of that for a while.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Didn't even cross my mind. Though I do think I have just the thing to perk you up."

"Really?" Aang responded unenthusiastically. He felt like on of those old villains in the scrolls Katara liked to read that had his entire life's worth of failures just piled on top of him. Now he felt completely unmotivated and felt like crawling back into his bed and sleeping the day away and hoping that tomorrow would be better. After all, he did have meetings tomorrow.

Toph must have felt the shift in his mood because she immediately started snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Hey, snap out of it, Twinkle Toes. I've got this. We're going to fix you, it's not exactly hard."

"Isn't it?" Aang asked her.

The girl leaned back into her chair, looking very self satisfied but also showing the rare signs of compassion that Toph secretly held for the few friends that she had. She smirked at him and made him a solid promise. "Just trust me."

* * *

**A/N:** *phew* Finally got this posted…applications and RL have me about to bust my head through a wall and just…lie there. I need a vacation, seriously.

So we have another interesting little layer to add to all of the other issues running around in this story. Aang strikes me as the type that has a very idealized look of the world. Since he remained in a temple all his life and got blasted into the future one hundred years to boot, there are things that he doesn't know and will probably rely on he teachings to help him through what he is ignorant on. Plus, the kid knows little about romance, and since Katara was his first, he's got no points of reference other than what he's learned. Sort of explains his inexperience despite his age, at least in my eyes.

Updates are slow because college apps have got me crying in corners and pulling my hair out. Now that I've got half of them done, I should have more time. Hopefully the long chapters will make up for it. But I really want to thank you for the copious amounts of reviews. I didn't think this would be so popular! ^.^ Until next time!


	4. Exacerbation

**A/N:** How do I like…show up on Tumblr? Do I just say "Yo! What up?" and hope to attract people? I mean I know how to work Tumblr, but fandom blogs are different from random, personal, let's post pretty things! blogs. Know what I mean? How do I Tumblr? (/rant)

**OOO**

**Chapter 5**

**Exacerbation**

**OOO**

For whatever reason, Toph had decided to leave Aang be for a couple of days after their rather introspective lunch date. Though, he supposed in keeping with the belief that it was possibly the most uncomfortable experience of Aang's life, he had stopped calling it a date and referred to it only as the lunch interrogation. Either way, the Avatar hadn't seen a trace of the elusive Earthbender anywhere in his walks through the city that he had taken to indulging in when his duties as the Earth King's temporary advisor were getting to be too much.

He didn't want to say that Toph was a distraction per se, but he definitely noticed the difference in his demeanor once the girl had decided to leave him with the thoughts and theories she had implanted into his brain for him to mull over and consider. Thinking on it now, perhaps this was the intention behind her absence because the last handful of hours were filled with meetings, contract drafting, consultations, and so _so_ many arguments that made Aang feel older than he actually was. He caught himself multiple times with his shoulders slumping, his head pounding, and his exhaustion becoming an all encompassing feeling as opposed to a minor ailment that was the result of lack of sleep. Aang slept, ate, and took care of himself, but the mood never quit. He wondered why he had never noticed it before.

Even now, walking through a particularly crowded section of the Upper Ring with so many bustling civilians filled with so much energy and excitement—where did it come from, and why was it _everywhere_?—caused Aang's stomach to curl in on itself and induce the overwhelming desire to just run, lock himself up in his room, and never come out. He didn't understand why everyone's happiness made him feel like bolting. Maybe it was because they actually enjoyed the places they were going and the people they were with. Everything was new and nothing was repeated. Variety. Change. A challenge.

Aang rubbed a hand down his face. _Dammit. What am I even saying?_, he berated himself. When on Earth did he ever start thinking like this? It couldn't have been possible that he was only just now noticing these awful moods because Toph pointed them out. Was he really so oblivious to himself that he couldn't even realize when he had dug himself into a hole too deep for him to try and get out of?

_You don't notice what's wrong with yourself and your life until you start comparing._

Aang shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed out, his breath coming out in a large puff of white that furled in front of him until it disappeared only three inches from his face. For some reason, the image intrigued him and he kept doing it—breathing in, breathing out, watching his breathe disappear, and repeating. It relaxed him and it helped him think clearly without letting his thoughts become depressing. The very idea of dwelling on how his life compared to others only made him feel worse about his thoughts and actions as of late, and if Aang was being perfectly honest with himself, he wanted to enjoy the ignorance just a little bit longer before Toph decided to intervene. Besides, it was scary to think that even these seemingly happy people that made Aang feel worse about himself were actually just the same as him. They were just leagues better at hiding it.

Sokka had noticed Aang was rather put out and not taking his job seriously for the past few days. The warrior didn't know about the verbal lashing he had received from an old friend, but it was obvious to the older man that when Aang was dipping his brush into his tea and not his inkpot, and misspelling words that he learned when he was probably ten, something was horribly wrong. Aang didn't want to talk about it—how could he, and where would he even start?—and Sokka wasn't very good at pulling confessions out of people. He said himself that he wasn't very good at sorting through emotional baggage and trying to salvage it—that was always his sister's department. Instead, the warrior told him to take a break for the morning and take a walk around the city. The fresh air would sober him up and do him good.

A grimace formed across Aang's face as he approached a public park already crawling with families and children taking walks and playing games. It was strange for so many people to be occupying the park when the weather wasn't exactly warm, but he supposed that the scenery was nice enough for others to take advantage of in some way. Besides, he rather liked the idea of surrounding himself with trees, bushes, and lawns of grass as opposed to the claustrophobic feel of rows and rows of buildings all around him.

Finding an empty stone bench right by a fountain that had been turned off for the winter, Aang plopped down on the seat and leaned his elbows on his knees. He let his head slump forward as he continued to watch all the people that passed by him in a blur of dark, earth colors that were so prevalent in the Earth Kingdom when it was this cold out. He almost wished it was Spring when the people were a little bit more eager to display some brighter colors in their wardrobe. Maybe it would have made him feel better.

He wasn't sure how long he was sitting down and staring into space before he heard a throaty laugh echo behind him. Aang's head turned to look over the back of the seat and was so tempted to grimace at the sight before him, get up, and run away.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is?" Aang couldn't forget that face anywhere. Granted, there was a distinct lack of makeup and lot less visible skin, but he was almost positive this was the girl he had found trouble with that night when Toph had valiantly rescued him by pure luck—or, given recent admissions, the result of "promising to keep an eye on him."

Her hair was loose and hanging down her back as opposed to piled up on the top of her head like it was that night. She was carrying a bag over her shoulders and looked like she had just come across the biggest opportunity for entertainment all day. She hugged her coat closer to herself and sent a sickeningly sweet smile over to the Avatar that made him want to shudder.

The girl sauntered over to Aang and jumped over the back of the bench. She placed her feet on the seat and sat down on the back of the bench so that she could look down at Aang. "Didn't think I'd run into you again, cutie. What a messed up coincidence."

Aang glared in her direction and kept his body rigid. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

She raised her eyebrows and jutted her head out towards the crowds of people in front of them. "Um, enjoying the pleasures of a very much _public_ park? I can sit wherever I want, genius." The girl frowned and cradled her chin in her hands. "Shit, you make it sound like I'm some sort of criminal."

"You might as well be," Aang snarled, shifting in his seat away from the girl. "I have every right to have you arrested or something."

The girl placed a hand on her heart and pouted. "Oh, my aching heart. How ever will I go on?" She laughed that same throaty, sensual laugh and started turning a ring on her finger. "Can't you get over that already? It happened days ago."

"You could have killed me!" he practically shouted.

"Oh, please, you drama queen," the girl scoffed. "I think I knew what I was doing. Besides, I was only doing my job. I have a commission to keep up with. I wasn't about to get fired because you were acting like a virgin about the whole thing. And anyway, you're alive, aren't you?"

Aang scowled and was very tempted to just get up from his seat and walk away in order to salvage whatever peace he was supposed to be seeking when Sokka had all but kicked him out of the hotel and told him to sort himself out before he even thought about marching back. But the culmination of the events that made up this particularly peculiar trip made him downright defensive and desperate to explain himself in some degree, even if it was to this stranger.

He refused to look her way when he answered. "You're missing the point, and I wasn't acting like a virgin about anything! You attacked me."

She shook her head and looked up towards the sky as if she couldn't believe the words that were coming out his mouth. "Whatever you say, pretty boy. All I know is that you looked fucking terrified, like you'd never had a girl on top of you or something." She laughed at the memory and turned to start digging through her pockets while Aang seethed next to her.

"Don't assume you know anything," Aang muttered under his breathe, still not believing whom he was arguing with, and defending his very much apparent sex experience, for that matter. It didn't matter how long it had been. First Toph was criticizing him about his relationship, now this girl.

She looked almost shocked for a moment with the way her eyes suddenly widened, but then her face split into a grin and she started biting her lip in a futile attempt to stifle a raucous life. "Oh. I forgot who I'm talking to." The girl leered at Aang and put her face close to his. "Your little girlfriend not satisfied or something?"

Aang's temper was already spilling over—something that he had previously been proud to say had not happened in a very long time—and he decided to storm off and walk down the path and out of the park with as much dignity as he could manage. Forget getting fresh air anymore. He just wanted to finish his work, maybe crawl into bed for the day and sulk, and hope that Toph didn't choose today to lead him through what would probably be a grueling intervention. Running into this girl was just further complicating things and upturning his day far more than he wanted to admit.

Nothing had turned out well this entire visit, so he wasn't even going to bother being surprised or shocked when the girl jumped off the bench and followed him. "Are you seriously running away from me the minute I say something uncomfortable? God, no wonder you got cold feet that night. You are something else…"

Aang twisted around sharply, his eyes glaring fiercely. "Why are you following me? Why do you care about my business? I'm having a bad day, and you're making it worse."

He didn't get a response other than a delicately raised eyebrow. "Spirits. Bei Fong must seriously be giving you issues."

Aang caught himself about to yell at her again before he paused and stared strangely back. "Wait…Bei Fong? What are you talking about?"

She was digging through her pockets again and pulled out some black gloves to cover up her hands in the rather nippy weather that was completely unsuited for this conversation. "Bei Fong? You know, your girlfriend? Oh, and thank her by the way for the huge ass bump she left on the side of my fucking head. It still hurts, and I didn't even do anything wrong. She should be yelling at you."

Aang blinked. "…Toph Bei Fong? You know her?" How on Earth did this girl possibly know a noble like Toph Bei Fong?

She nodded and pushed Aang's shoulder back, nodding for him to keep walking as her eyes darted around to make sure that no one would hear their conversation. At least the girl had at least some propriety when it came to privacy.

"Yeah, I know her. Met her about a month ago" she sighed. She comes over a lot over some heat she has with one of our regulars at the hall I work at," she began to explain with a roll of her eyes that seemed filled with annoyance and contempt. "I'm the one he's seeing, so she comes and asks me about him. What he talked about, what he's doing, stuff like that."

As much as he did not like being seen with a trollop like this one, he couldn't help but be rather intrigued at the accidental slip of information that she had offered him. It probably didn't mean anything—Toph had been in the city for so long and she was certainly entitled to know others aside from him—but he couldn't help but wonder who this mysterious man was that Toph seemed to interested in tracking down for well over a month. His thoughts wandered back to the first moment he spotted her—in a dance hall and leaning against another man. He wondered briefly if this person she had been tracking a month ago was just another guy she had wrapped herself up with. For reasons he didn't care to elaborate on at the moment, the thought didn't sit well with him.

He chewed on his lip and asked, "How long was that going on?"

The girl turned to him quickly and stared at him up and down. "What're you asking me for? She's _your_ squeeze, shouldn't you know about her ex's?"

"Look, she isn't my girlfriend!" Aang finally replied.

Eyes widened in response and the girl rested her hand under her chin. "Oh, seriously? Damn, my bad," she chuckled to herself, staring at Aang out of the corner of her eye. "Man, what the hell was she being all defensive over you for? You guys are friends or something?"

Aang shrugged his shoulders and scratched the back of his head. "I guess you could say that."

The girl laughed loudly and Aang had to control himself to keep from hitting her in the back of the head so that she could keep her voice down and avoid drawing attention. "You guess? You mean you don't know? Plus you seem awfully interested in this guy she was seeing."

"I was just worried about her, that's all," Aang defended himself, and decided not to elaborate any further on the fact.

He was already feeling extremely vulnerable however. In his anger and frustration, he only just realized how much information and material for speculation he had just given this girl, and he could already tell by the small smirk forming on the girl's face that she was already putting two and two together. He wasn't sure what she was figuring out and what she was assuming, but it just made him kick himself even more and wish that he had just ignored Sokka and stayed inside like he had originally planned.

Aang had long abandoned the idea of just walking away and leaving the girl to her own devices. For some reason, he was uncomfortable leaving her with her speculations and assumptions and didn't want her running off and thinking something outrageous. In all honesty, he shouldn't have cared. She didn't know who he was. However, his fears were confirmed when she suddenly pushed Aang behind a building—obscuring them from the view of the passerby on the street—and yanked off the cap on Aang's head.

He didn't have time to cover up his tattoo before she saw it and grinned triumphantly at the sight. "I knew it. I fucking _knew_ it! No wonder you know Bei Fong so well. Spirits, you look so much like your pictures now! How did I not put this together sooner? Oh my…" She dissolved into hysterical laughter then. She didn't even have the strength to properly clutch the hat in her fingers when Aang reached forward and snatched it back with a flush all over his face. The girl was smarter than he gave her credit for. This wasn't good at all. Nobody knew much about Aang. But the Avatar's business was practically common knowledge across the world at this point.

In an attempt to get away and avoid any questioning—it was too late to stop her speculating now that she pretty much just confirmed all she needed to—Aang jogged out of the alley and began to make his way back the way he came to go back to his hotel.

The girl, however, was very persistent. "This is all starting to make sense, you know," she called behind him. "Fidelity issues must suck, huh?"

For the umpteenth time, Aang turned back to this girl that seemed to be far too intuitive for her own good. His anger began to slowly fizzle out at the sound of the word "fidelity." Suddenly, as if he was just drenched with ice water, dread began to creep up in his veins as he stared at the girl's knowing smile. "How…what do you even…?" He couldn't finish his sentence.

"I'm just assuming," the girl began, "because you're apparently very much committed to a famous Water Tribe war veteran. Water Bender, right?" She walked closer, like she was purposefully trying to pressure Aang. "Toph makes you act _pretty_ nervous. Plus, you seemed pretty shaken up over the fact that she could hang out with any other guy that isn't you." She must have easily read Aang's confused expression, because she immediately smiled and said, "I work in a place littered with relationship drama. This isn't exactly hard to puzzle together."

Just the knowledge that someone else could possibly pick up on the obsession with Toph's business that even he couldn't quite place justification behind made his heart drop lower down into his stomach than it already had. All hatred and annoyance had evaporated and was instead replaced with a guilt and confusion that had riddled his head initially. He was just switching back and forth between the two extremes, and frankly he was sick of it.

It must have shown in his face, because the girl stopped her grinning and frowned at him much like she would a child sitting on the floor in a puddle of tears. "Aw come on, now! Don't cry about it. Look, I was just teasing you, okay? It's not—no! No, come on cut it out."

Aang rolled his eyes. "I'm not _crying_!" he snapped petulantly. "I'm just sick and tired of everyone pointing this out to me, and I don't even _know_ you!"

The girl nodded with a tilt to her head, silently agreeing at the statement. "Alright, alright, I got you. People pointing out your mistakes. Not fun." She shrugged this away and smirked at him. "But hey. Shit tends to happen for a reason. Keeps things interesting, tests resilience, things like that."

Aang muttered, "I can do without the endurance tests, thank you very much."

"Not what I meant," the girl amended, slapping a hand on Aang's shoulder. "Nine times out of ten, when you're in the middle of a shit storm and suddenly life seems totally unfair and you wish that someone would just strike you down and end it all, it usually means you're about to come to an epiphany."

"What kind of epiphany?" Aang frowned with a raised brow.

"Oh you know," the girl waved casually. "A change of perspective. In your case, your love life is in need of some serious revamping. You're obviously missing something from home. That's why you came here, found a pretty old friend, and are questioning your impenetrable Avatar morals."

"You make it sound like I did on purpose!" he argued.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever! Missing the goddamn point. Whether on purpose or by accident, there's some void in you. I don't know what the hell it is; I'm not your therapist. But whatever it is that you're missing, you need to get your fix. Otherwise you're going to turn into a ball of nerves and guilt that sits on park benches and yells at innocent bystanders."

Aang stared ahead pensively. Get his fix? Just like that? She made it sound so easy. Then again, it was easy for a girl like her to suggest that he should just throw caution to the wind and just chase after something appealing the minute he caught sight of it like he was some wild animal. That sounded like something a twelve-year-old Toph would tell him to do: screw the consequences, go after what you want, deal with the crashing and burning later. Somehow that seemed far too simplistic an answer, and he felt like Toph knew that now. Otherwise, he was sure she would have jumped to this conclusion right away. But something else was bothering him over everything else.

"Well, what am I missing?" he asked desperately, more to himself than to his unwanted companion.

The girl shook her head sadly. "Hell if I know. You're your own fucked up puzzle. You figure it out. Besides, it wasn't my intention to get all philosophical with a past client."

Aang blushed and couldn't help the raising of his voice. "I was _never _your client!"

The girl was picking through her bag and giving Aang only half of her attention. "Details, details. Look, it's been fun and all, but I seriously gotta go." She pulled out some expensive shoes that looked ten times nicer and more expensive than the street shoes she was wearing at the moment. "I've got a commission to keep up with. Heard the guy's rich, so I gotta get ready."

Aang winced, wishing that he didn't hear the nature of her prior obligations. "Yeah, okay…"

She looked up and saw Aang's embarrassment evident all over his face and couldn't help but chuckle to herself. "I'm still sticking to the whole virgin thing. You're too much." She slung the bag back over her shoulder and held the shoes with her index and middle fingers hooked inside. "Name's Miku, by the way. Just in case you ever want to pour your romanticized heart out again."

Something told Aang he should probably thank her for the—albeit very strange—advice, but he wasn't exactly sure what to do with the information she gave him. Plus, he was still trying to figure out how in the world he managed to even get himself into a mess like this.

Miku must have sensed his confusion because she didn't wait for a thank you or a farewell. She gave a mock salute with the hand holding her shoes and marched off down the street in the other direction, probably off to one of the large estates here in the Upper Ring where a client was eagerly waiting with a wad of cash up front and ready.

Aang scratched his head and turned in the other direction, deciding that he had gotten enough fresh air for the afternoon. Something about just going headlong into a situation as delicate as this one didn't seem right to him. But this girl knew hardly anything about him and came to almost the same conclusion as Toph—although with far different courses of action. He'd been denying himself something, and all he had to do was figure out what it was. Hopefully, Toph would help him with what very question in the most gentle and nonintrusive way as possible. But knowing the girl's track record, that was likely to be impossible. He could do all he could to hope, though.

However, during his long walk back to the hotel, something that Miku had offhandedly mentioned was beginning to bother him now that he was taking the time to think it through.

Who on Earth was that guy that Toph found was important enough to keep tabs on for over a month? Toph being in that bar was no coincidence that night. Chance wasn't that kind to Aang despite the fact that he was a pretty lucky guy. That meant that Toph had gone there on purpose. More specifically, she had gone to Miku's room on purpose and just happened to find Aang in a huge spot of trouble. What did Toph say she was doing? Trying to find a man that cheated on his wife there? Maybe it was the same man that Miku had been referring to.

But why was Toph still trying to track him down?

Aang wandered around for a little bit more before he ventured back into the hotel. He managed to stop by and get a bite to eat—not really caring that he could get food for free if he went to the hotel—and picked up some extra bottles of ink and scrolls of parchment, since he was almost positive that he was running out. He also wasn't too keen on the fact that the moment he came back to the room, it would just be more writing, more stressing, maybe some dinner, and then bed. Then he'd have the lovely pleasure of waking up to do it all over again.

"Well, today turned out to be positively lovely," Aang muttered to himself sarcastically. He halted his step for a moment, only just now listening to himself and frowned. Since when did he sound so negative and sarcastic? The dark humor and sarcasm was usually Zuko's department. His frown kept on his face as he thought through the events of the day as he waved a hello to the woman at the front desk and trudged to the staircase.

He made his way to the top floor and pulled out the key to his room. As he fiddled with the lock, he could have swore he heard Sokka's laugh echo through the wood of the door. He shrugged it off. Sokka had the tendency to get delirious when he was stressed. Maybe he was seeing giant mushrooms again or something, Aang thought with a smile.

As Aang shed his coat and hung it on a hook to the side, he looked into the living with a start and would have jumped back and screamed had he been twelve all over again.

Sitting at the small table covered in parchments, scrolls, brushes, and wells of ink were Toph and Sokka laughing over a private joke, sharing drinks and sampling some appetizers brought up from the kitchens downstairs. Aang shook his head and couldn't help the creases that were beginning to form on his forehead. Of all the things to walk into. Here he was trying to take a walk and clear his head, and not only does he get accosted during the entirety of the trip, but any damage he may have tried to undo just relapsed.

Sokka did a double take and his eyes finally met Aang's. He smiled at him and waved him over to the living room. "Well, well, well. He has returned. Cleared up your head yet, or are you still struggling with basic grammar?"

Toph didn't bother to turn her head, but laughed at the comment before she reached forward to grab some berries. "Eh, the poor guy's all messed up." Toph called over her shoulder. "I heard the Earth King's got you whipped like he's your boyfriend or something."

Normally, Aang would have scowled at that comment and promptly defended himself—let alone the fact that, if he was being _severely _honest with himself, it was half true—he was more confused about the fact that Toph was just calmly sitting in his hotel room, talking to Sokka like the two of them hadn't been separated and on different sides of the world for seven years. He definitely hadn't been expecting this.

"Wait…what on Earth are you doing here?" Aang asked incredulously.

Toph shrugged, trying her hardest to look affronted. "What, I can't come and visit my two best friends after seven years? Honestly…"

"And you just knew where we were?" Aang asked again.

She rolled her eyes in response and chuckled at his statement as if he had just said something incredibly ignorant and stupid. "You're not exactly a stranger. I went into the most expensive hotel in the Upper Ring, dropped my name, and asked what room you were staying in. Wasn't hard."

Aang winced. That couldn't possibly be good. If becoming a convincing look alike was all it took to come up to his hotel room, that was rather worrying. It was bad enough that he had to sort through piles and piles of fan mail all day. Plus, the idea of Toph being able to find him so effortlessly at all was still bothering him. He hadn't quite gotten used that yet.

"Don't listen to her," Sokka insisted. "She's just being bratty. We're not that easy to find."

Toph laughed. "Says you. I'm hardly the only one with resources. The most expensive hotel in Ba Sing Se? If you're trying to go for the whole incognito spiel, your subtlety needs work. You know what? Scratch that. You _have_ no subtlety."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "That's rich coming from you."

She crossed her arms and snuggled further into the plush couch. "_Everything_ about me screams rich," she smirked.

Aang chuckled at the double meaning and moved into the living room. Figuring that he should probably play up the whole I-haven't-seen-Toph-until-now act for fear of Sokka picking up on any betraying information—no matter how miniscule—Aang reached over the couch and pulled Toph in for a one-armed hug. She smiled and returned the gesture, and smacked him on the side of his neck when he placed a kiss on the top of her head. Sokka laughed and rolled his eyes at the friendly exchange.

Aang plucked a few pieces of paper from the tabletop and started to flip through them, quickly scanning the plans he and Sokka were trying to outline before he left earlier. "I guess we can take a break from all the building plans then."

Sokka frowned. "Why?"

The Airbender sighed and looked outside. "Well, didn't you say that someone was coming in to review reconstruction plans?" One of the plans the Earth King had been trying to get in order was to rebuild a large section of the Upper Ring that had been destroyed by a rebellion attack by Fire Nation rogues a couple of months ago. Zuko took care of all of the nasty work of apprehending the perpetrators and punishing them accordingly, but the fact of the matter remained that there was some major work to be done to get that section of the city up and running. Between the fund offered through donations and through Zuko himself, Aang was left with the job of finding a company who could reasonably rebuild around twenty houses and public buildings within the available budget.

The Earth King might have been a fool, but her certainly wasn't the idiot that many people thought he was. At the very least, the man was very good with handling and divvying money and knew that there was absolutely no need for emptying necessary funds for a company who considered themselves overqualified. The only problem was that most companies thought this about themselves and had been haggling prices with the Avatar for weeks. One of the reasons Aang returned to Ba Sing Se during this occasion was to finalize these plans and hopefully get them up and running.

"Yeah," Sokka agreed. "That's still a thing. Kuei's kind off ticked off that it's taking so long, so it would be nice if we could get that done soon. Like now."

Aang frowned and pushed the papers back onto the table as he sat down next to Sokka and across from Toph. "They're not here though. Aren't they late?"

Toph cleared her throat and reached towards the table, brushing her fingers over some pieces of parchment until they grabbed a thick and rather expensive looking piece. "Um, you're _way_ behind on the uptake there, Twinkle Toes. The only one who came late was you."

"What are you talking about?" Aang asked.

Toph sighed, held up a hand to silence him, and got up from her seat. "Never mind. If you're here, we can start, I guess." She gestured to Sokka. "Can I just call down the hall for an employee? I need to send my scribe up."

Sokka stood. "I'll get him, don't worry. You fill Aang in on everything."

"Sure thing. Just make sure he's got everything before you drag him up here. He tends to get really nervous and forgets what he's doing," she grumbled under her breath. "Hurry up!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sokka assured as he exited the room, leaving Aang on the couch with a face twisted in complete bewilderment.

Aang eyed Toph warily and dropped his gaze to the parchment she was still holding. "Um…" he began.

Toph smiled wryly. "Yeah, sorry. I came after you freaked out and needed to clear your head. The point was to meet all at once, but since you're here…"

She dropped her smirk and immediately relaxed her shoulder and tipped her chin up the way that she did whenever she bribed people for ferry tickets or posed as a noble to get into a party and needed to make her name drop seem convincing. Although, he was sure that now it was less of a name drop and more of an assertion of very apparent influence. His eyes widened before his introduction, remembering that Toph had truthfully said that she had come to Ba Sing Se to handle legal—and apparently aesthetic—business.

She held out her hand. "Toph Bei Fong, owner and chief financial advisor of North Lotus Contracting. It's a pleasure to be doing business with you."

**OOO**

It took two and a half hours for Aang to finally finalize the opinion that he was prepared to make anyway the moment he reached out to shake his best friend's hand.

Toph was damn good at her job.

The moment her scribe came up—a clumsy but very determined young man that looked about Toph's age but reminded Aang of her over zealous servant—scrolls and scrolls of schedules, financial budgets, permits and contracts ready for signing, and even lists of offered materials—"Hey, you never know if the Earth King wants to get fancy," she laughed—were poured out on the table for the two men to gawk at. Apparently, Toph liked to pick up the slack in her own company by heading her own projects. According to her, it was partly because she was bored, and partly because she still held onto that somewhat cocky personality that insisted she was the only one who could _really_ do things right. Since her head contractor was away for the next month on a family emergency and because this project was for the Earth King, Toph decided to head it herself. Luckily, Toph was very thorough.

She breathed out again and slammed the stone table with both of her hands. Immediately, yet another small-scale model of a possible Upper Ring villa that the Earth King wanted built in various damaged parts of the city appeared. Despite her inability to be able to do much with a brush and ink, her ability to Earthbend accurate dimensions and impeccable structural detail was short of Godly.

"Kept the aesthetics more or less the same, as per your request," Toph began to explain in earnest, "but I figured you'd want something a little more fireproof. All the walls are stone with metal foundation inside, makes the walls more sturdy and will be a lot more weather resistant. We noticed that a lot of the land in between the villas wasn't being used, so I figured going out rather than up would actually be nice for a change. They'll have more rooms and more window space to keep the villas cool during the summer months. For the rest of the land, we'll get landscapers to come in and work out specifics with the owners of the houses, but for now they'll just layout the bare minimum. We can go over that later."

Toph snapped behind her, and her scribe produced another scroll and handed it to Aang. "We outlined costs of materials and also the hourly wages for labor. I won't explain everything since it's all there , but I figured classy and cheap would please the stuffed shirts and keep things within a reasonable price range." The crossed her legs and leaned back against the couch. "Stop me if you have questions."

Sokka looked up from a scroll of land permits and raised a finger. "These permits…are they for…?"

"We can't expand the way I was saying without them," Toph shrugged. "Not necessary of course, but all those plots of land in between are untouched. Seems like a waste to me, and speaking from experience, nobles _love_ showing off garden foliage. Makes them seem special. They'll love it. But, it's the Earth King's call," she ended, her foot nudging Aang's knee across from her.

Aang was biting his lip, looking over the prices that her scribe had outlined. He was more concerned about answering other questions. "I'm still trying to get over the fact that our little Toph is a ruthless business mogul."

The foot nudging turned into a sharp kick right into the middle of his kneecap that made Aang bite on his lip harder than necessary. "Shut up," she growled. "Plus, I'd hardly call it my own company. It was my idea and it's under my name, but Dad's backing it."

Aang looked up from his scroll at that piece of information. "Really?"

"Yup," Toph nodded. "North Lotus is a play on our surname and my first name. Bei Fong Exports is North Lotus's source of funding. All of our marble and precious stone exports go towards materials for our contracting projects, which is good because then we don't have to worry about other companies selling us crap materials. Plus, we kinda like to keep business within the family. Makes things less messy."

Sokka snorted and shook his head with a grin. "So you started a company because you were bored?"

The Earthbender smirked and shrugged. "Hey, I'm not a fan of listening to stuffed shirts run their mouths. How the two of you do it all day is beyond me. I don't have that kind of patience. I'd much rather sit behind my nice desk and run the big numbers."

Aang raised his brows at the scroll Toph's scribe had handed him. "Speaking of big numbers…"

Toph rolled her eyes and leaned forward so her elbows were resting on her knees. "Okay, big boy. Hit me," she said, waving towards herself. "Surely compromising is part of your illustrious resume."

The ease with which the three of them were able to slip into friendly banter was almost too fluid, and Aang had to wonder if Toph ever kept her worry over him in the back of her mind. Of course, Aang was more worried about the fact that Toph really didn't have to consciously do much to keep his eyes on her. All he could do was thank his excellent luck that Sokka was too busy decoding the complicated figures on the sheet in front of him and that Toph was blind, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stare at her so freely.

He wasn't sure which Toph he liked better: the Toph that danced in dance halls with her hair down, or this Toph who looked so smart and confident lounging on the couch across from him.

As she was running through an alternate financial plan, Aang found that his eyes were straying so much that he couldn't even play it off if he tried. Her hair was pulled back completely. Even her bangs were swept back into an artful bun on the back of her head that left her face and neck exposed for him to draw his eyes to. Her dress reminded him of the light ensemble he had first seen her in, except this one was tighter at the waist and matched her sea foam green eyes better. Her legs were crossed at the knee and drew attention to how long and slender they were. Being dressed in those baggy travel pants she was so used to clearly hid some rather important information. Well, Aang thought it was important anyway.

Miku's suggestion to get his fix suddenly barreled into his thoughts so hard that he visibly blinked from the force of it. He nodded absently and accepted the terms they agreed to—whatever they were…he was sure Sokka had been keeping track of that—and licked his lips nervously. Gyatso had always told him that desires never died—they were only suppressed. No matter how bad thoughts and desires may have seemed to you now, you desperately vied for them at one point in time. Surely, such a fascination with this girl in front of him couldn't just be starting now. No matter how hard he fought and how many walls he threw up, things leaked through. Being the pacifist monk that he was, Aang understood the significance of stepping away from a futile fight.

Toph smiled dazzlingly as Aang leaned forward and signed the last of the permits and contracts that would finalize the deal. Her scribe began tying up all the scrolls and placing them back in the bag he was carrying as Toph nodded and began to stand to stretch her legs. "Well, that wasn't too painful. Pleasure doing business with you. I'm guessing we're going to be seeing a lot of each other soon, huh?" she winked.

Aang didn't know why—he was usually so good about these things—but he was pretty positive that the two of them interpreted the phrase "seeing a lot of each other" completely differently.

"Um, yeah," Aang smiled hesitantly, growing nervous from his betraying thoughts. "Definitely, I, uh…maybe I'll stop by sometimes to see how things are going."

"I'll hold you to that," Toph grinned. Toph turned around and placed a shoulder on her scribe's shoulder. "Everything all sorted out, then?"

"Yes, I have everything organized and ready to deliver to the necessary departments tomorrow morning," he answered back immediately.

"Wonderful. Make copies of everything and make sure that they're all on file for future reference. You can do that throughout the day tomorrow. Good work," she smirked at him and ruffled his neatly placed hair.

The boy sucked his teeth and ducked out of the way. "Ms. Bei Fong, cut it out!"

She made a face at him and shoved his shoulder gently. "Go on, get out of here! Take the rest of the day off. I'll be dealing with personal commitments for the rest of the day. But don't tell anyone, alright?"

The scribe widened his eyes for a moment, and then smiled brightly at the prospect of getting practically the entire afternoon off to do with what he wanted. "Oh my…th-thank you!" He bowed quickly and scampered out of the room, leaving the three old friends alone.

"Man, you sure made his day," Sokka commented with a smile.

Toph shrugged. "He deserved it. And anyway, like I said. I have personal things to catch up with now that all this gross professionalism is all over and done with."

"When you say 'personal things,' what exactly did you have in mind?" Sokka asked, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of having a night off after days of working endlessly.

"Well," Toph leered. "Certainly not the kind of fun I _know_ you're thinking of. How about we stay away from the bars and dance halls and just hang out like a good set of friends, huh?"

"What, you can't appreciate bars and dance halls?" Sokka frowned comically. Aang shook his head. Sometimes, Sokka didn't even _try _to act like he had a girlfriend. In the back of his mind, he remembered that he still hadn't asked Sokka what happened to him the night that Aang slept over in Toph's suite. He knew he really didn't have the right to be judging Sokka for a wandering eye, but at least he was trying to be discreet about it. Aang did chuckle after he ran through Sokka's question a second time. He was pretty sure Toph knew how to appreciate dance halls and bars _very_ well.

"We're in the middle of the work week. Unless you want to stroll into the Earth King's throne room with a hangover and slurring every fifth word, we're keeping it classy," she scolded.

Aang raised a brow. "How classy?"

Toph held her tongue in between her teeth as she reached up and pulled out the pin that was holding her hair up. Her bangs fell to the side of her face and half of her bun fell out so that her hair was at least partly loose. Toph's face visibly relaxed as she pocketed the pin. "Sorry. I had my secretary pull my hair back and I think my scalp was about to rip off."Aang's breath caught. Alright, maybe he really did prefer Toph with her hair hanging loose.

"Well, to avoid having to waste time and get changed into other clothes, let's just head down to the Middle Ring," Toph decided.

"That's it?" Aang asked.

Toph laughed at the incredulity in the Airbender's voice. "Have you _seen_ the Middle Ring this morning?"

Aang looked to the side nervously and shook his head. He figured the Upper Ring would be a bit quieter in comparison to the other districts, so he dutifully avoided the Middle Ring since he was sure the multitude of shops and restaurants would attract a lot of people, something he was trying to avoid. Not that this necessarily worked out too well.

"Why, is there a new shop opening or something?" Sokka questioned.

Toph shook her head. "Remember when the Earth Kingdom used to have Fire Day Festivals for the Fire Nation citizens living away from the homeland?" Both men nodded.

"Well," the Earthbender continued, "Earth Kingdom citizens have taken to reclaiming that day and starting traveling Earth Day Festivals just for the heck of it. They stop by in Ba Sing Se once every season, and they just set up shop in the financial district."

Aang seemed extremely interested at the prospect of attending an Earth Kingdom festival after so many years. "Have you ever been?"

"Oh yeah," Toph assured her two friends. "Food, snacks, music, unofficial Earth Rumble tournaments…you know, I heard that there are some weird underground dance groups that mix Earth Bending and choreography or something. Earth Kingdom has the best dancers, so I wouldn't be surprised, but still. That should be pretty interesting. I saw them all setting up on my way here."

Sokka clapped his hands together and walked to one of the chairs set up on the side of the room where he haphazardly threw his coat. "You had me at food and snacks."

Toph rolled her eyes and walked to the front door to retrieve her own coat. "Glad to know your brain is still wired the same."

Aang couldn't help but agree. "He's still a little simple when it comes to food and women, unfortunately."

"Wouldn't have him any other way, I suppose," she sighed in mock disappointment. Her frown turned into a smirk as she elbowed Aang in between the ribs. "Though, I think this will be good for you. I think you need some wholesome fun for a change."

Aang almost didn't understand what she was getting at, but then he remembered that Toph had promised him she had some ideas on how to get him to snap out of his horrid mood brought about due to boredom and overall unhappiness with his romantic situation. Reevaluate, she had told him.

While Sokka was fixing up his appearance in the mirror, Aang dropped his voice and brought his lips near Toph's ear. "And you're sure this is going to help?"

The girl patted him gently on his back and whispered back to him. "You're problem is that you're focusing too much on what's gone wrong and not focusing enough on the magic you've got right in front of you. Try having some fun and enjoying yourself for a bit, will you? Then maybe you won't be so gloom and doom. We'll get into the sticky romance stuff later."

Aang nodded, trusting his friend enough that she knew what she was doing. He couldn't ignore that he was being given conflicting advice all over the place. He could throw caution to the wind and just go after what was catching his interest at the moment and finally find some satisfaction, or he could step back, realize that his attitude and general outlook were the problems, and understand that his disappointments weren't as all encompassing as he thought they were. There were merits to each course of action, but the question was which one would work the best.

Sokka finally buttoned his coat and pointed out the door. "Alright. Let's do this!"

**OOO**

**A/N:** Absences! I know I know I know, no excuses. I feel like "life" isn't a good enough answer, but that's all I've got to offer you. Good news is that my senior project is all wrapped up and done. I think I signed away half my soul trying to tie that one up.

Preview for next chapter:

_There was no excuse this time that he could think of. This would totally shatter everything that he had been working to keep together for so many years and would cause a brand new strain of something to grow in it's place. And right now, it was growing faster and faster the more he stared. _

Things are going to heat up very, _very_ soon. This time, I won't keep you guys hanging for too long.


End file.
